Denial of right to vote for lawful citizens

[sukh49]

Canadian Citizenship is a privilege not a right!!!

Then what?? The law if you havent dont any crime and contributed to Canadian society for 3 years you can be Citizen. Now, you think a new XYZ government comes in and takes 3, 5, 10 years(hypothetical) to give the citizenship document - it is okay??

What a nonsense comment about privilege. Citizenship is a right Sir!! You following the conservative minister too much on his twitter.

The topic here is if you want to pursue this agenda to shorten the wait time. Nobody is asking you about rights and privileges....and patriotism.

Seems like more people will like to enjoy the pie rather than make efforts to cook it. Subservient citizens like you who wont raise voices is what politicians want....very ideal Sir with your (no) service to Canada. It is just hilarious how people have religious following to threads that count days and months toward citizenship applications, but nobody working to push government to reduce wait times. Very ideal citizens for the politicians...but not for society. Keep counting....there is a thread waiting for you..

 

[MUFC]

IMO, the root of the problem in citizenship application is lack of transparency. I come to a conclusion that the speed of processing depends more on the individual who is processing it. But in any institution especially government institution, there must be clear rules of how thing's are done. It's not like because this is privilege, so it depends on personal mood or becomes a lottery game. Anyway, citizenship applicants are also tax-payers, residents who follow Canadian rules and law, not war captives.

Totally agree with you. There is no real transparency and we got no control over the speed of the work of the agent

 

[MUFC]

I understand the frustration of the people like sukh49.

Basically you pay for a service which you are eligible to take, but actually you have no clue when you will get it.

 

[nadeem55]

Hey sukh49,

Seems like you're struck in background/criminality checks, I know this is a big frustration while waiting and becoming a stone of the wall, but let me ask one thing, once you're granted the citizenship how much difference you can make to the Govt./Immigration policies?
You're not in the office of Council General or ministers who make/amend act and provisions.

Moreover, if you decide to challenge the Govt. policies then you're open to do so under the Canadian Freedom Act but there are some cases which are not under the control of Canadian Govt. because they hire third party to work on different cases when it come to non-routine or background checks.

I appreciate your voice but first you need to get the citizenship then to raise your voice for it (if you join minister office/cabinet)

Good Luck!

 

[Michels]

Then what?? The law if you havent dont any crime and contributed to Canadian society for 3 years you can be Citizen. Now, you think a new XYZ government comes in and takes 3, 5, 10 years(hypothetical) to give the citizenship document - it is okay??

What a nonsense comment about privilege. Citizenship is a right Sir!! You following the conservative minister too much on his twitter.

The topic here is if you want to pursue this agenda to shorten the wait time. Nobody is asking you about rights and privileges....and patriotism.

Seems like more people will like to enjoy the pie rather than make efforts to cook it. Subservient citizens like you who wont raise voices is what politicians want....very ideal Sir with your (no) service to Canada. It is just hilarious how people have religious following to threads that count days and months toward citizenship applications, but nobody working to push government to reduce wait times. Very ideal citizens for the politicians...but not for society. Keep counting....there is a thread waiting for you..

The Liberals are working to reduce the waiting time and fix bill c24, AFAIK the Liberal governments reduced it to the 3 years citizenship in the 70s, during Trudeau the father..
To apply for Citizenship is a privilege, after you get it it is your right to keep.
Besides, Canada has till now the shortest path to citizenship among all western countries and is still the most generous.. so why the fuss? in Canada you need to learn to be patient, everything gets a happy ending sooner or later.
good luck!

 

[keesio]

However... Canadian government IS OBLIGATED by Constitution & Laws to treat everyone equally (including permanent residents applying for Citizenship)...

The Canadian Charter of Rights has exceptions where only citizens are covered and not PRs (sections 3 & 6 specifically). This is fact. So not everyone has the same rights.

 

[ItkExpert]

Every application is unique on it's own. One's condition cannot be compared to other's. But it won't take 18 extra months just to run an additional check, let alone 30 months (non routine). Even repetitive DNA test won't take this long ;D. And I have read about a husband who applied in March, hasn't gotten anything. But his wife who applied in June already got the test. Both 2014. In this case, both application should be similar and comparable. I come to a conclusion that the speed of processing depends more on the individual who is processing it. If you are an alien from planet Mars and being processed by an alien from planet Pluto who doesn't like the alien from planet Mars, you would end-up waiting so so so long, because he/she would keep pushing my-own-kind's application first. (I hope you know what I mean). And again because of no-transparency, nobody can control this. Everything is kept secret. And people are starting to use imagination to determine about what's going on with their delayed application.

Did you mean to say the processing alien is from Venus ??

 

[BLT]

If the processing time estimate of 24 months for citizenship applications is calculated on the same basis as other figures offered by CIC, it reflects the time taken historically to process 80% of submitted applications. The remaining 20% of applications will take more than this time to process, sometimes much more. These quoted estimated times also apply only to cases where the application is "routine". Therefore, some applications will be processed in a few months and still be part of the 80% group. 24 months is not a promise, it's a statistic.

There is something fishy in this processing time. The 24 months time line has been there for few years, included when processing time was one of the longest in history. The currently stated from October 2013 to October 2014, also 24 months. It is a public knowledge that since February 2014, many people got it in less than 1 year if no RQ issued. Even some with RQ got it in less than 2 years. How come this is not changing the 24 months processing time? I think those who declare the processing time did it on purpose to maintain the long time line, so they can have room to drag the application, you know, if your application is not planet-Mars-kind. Another purpose is to limit the Mandamus filed. Since everything is kept secret, this wild imagination will keep going on.

 

[MUFC]

There is something fishy in this processing time. The 24 months time line has been there for few years, included when processing time was one of the longest in history. The currently stated from October 2013 to October 2014, also 24 months. It is a public knowledge that since February 2014, many people got it in less than 1 year if no RQ issued. Even some with RQ got it in less than 2 years.

The problem is that they are showing average statistic as a result of all the applications. So if some were done for 12 months and others were done for 36 months, then the average number will be again around 24 months for regular applications.

So at the end of the day nobody knows in which stream his application will be, but we can say that we can expect the result in 1 to 4 years after we submit the application.

 

[stan7175]

Frustrating because it is getting delayed i can understand as some of us has been there & may be still going through but filing a lawsuit because you cannot vote i think you are over reacting. Infact Canada immigration system is much better than many western countries. Just take a look at our border country(USA) & ask some of the highy skilled immigrants on years & years of backlog they have to wait ( on EB2/EB3) just to get a Greencard & on top of that they have to wait for another 5 years to get a citizenship. Atleast we dont have go through the painful process & not worring to have deported if you have a lost a job in H1B. Just enjoy the holiday season & hopefully you will have your day sooner than later.

Please letme know if you wish to pitch in money(if needed) to file a lawsuit against Canadian Government for Denial of lawful citizen's right to vote . It is frustrating that after paying taxes and after being part of society for lawful amount of time, I cannot vote and exercise other rights of citizen.

I am writing this out of frustration regarding the delays (upto 2-4years years) by current Canadian government in granting the citizenship documents to fully eligible citizens under law. I am a "fully eligible", citizen and have my application for citizenship pending with Canada Citizenship Agency. While it is pending, I cannot vote my voice in elections even though I am a "fully eligible" citizen of Canada per Canadian Law. It is taking 2 years at minimum, and unto 4 years, to grant the citizenship document to a citizen.

“Fully eligible” citizen is actually a wrong term I am using, because in fact I am a real citizen of Canada but the government is just not giving me the right to take citizenship test and hand me the document.

These years and years of processing citizenship applications is causing denial of right to vote for thousands of citizens - yes, they are citizens because they meet the requirements per law. Government is just not giving them the documents and essentially they are denying the right of a citizen to vote - which is against the constitution.

Lack of resources to process applications is not a justified reason to deny a citizen his/her citizenship documents. They can charge more fees to process application, but they have to give me my citizenship document to let me exercise my constitutional right to vote.

---------------------------

I am exploring options to file lawsuit and contacting respective Civil Liberties Associations. I applaud Rocco Galati, a lawyer who is fighting for constitutional rights by his own money and time. In this case we might have to hire somebody until unless CanadaVisa can support the cause.

Anybody has any other ideas please letme know. Also, please indicate if you are willing to pitch in money for this cause.... Remember, You dont get if you dont try. You have freedom of speech and right to fight for what is right. That is why you want to be a Canadian

 

[era1521]

.....
To apply for Citizenship is a privilege, after you get it it is your right to keep.
Besides, Canada has till now the shortest path to citizenship among all western countries and is still the most generous.. so why the fuss? in Canada you need to learn to be patient, everything gets a happy ending sooner or later.
good luck!

Very true. In Switzerland for citizenship you have to wait 19 years and then be approved by all cantons and pass the language tests where you have to able to speak all three official languages - french, italian and german.

 

[torontosm]

Then what?? The law if you havent dont any crime and contributed to Canadian society for 3 years you can be Citizen. Now, you think a new XYZ government comes in and takes 3, 5, 10 years(hypothetical) to give the citizenship document - it is okay??

Just to be clear, if you have fulfilled the requirements you outlined (residency in Canada for 3 years, no crime, etc.), you are eligible TO APPLY for citizenship. There is no rule that states you are automatically granted citizenship if you have fulfilled said requirements. This is an important distinction.

What a nonsense comment about privilege. Citizenship is a right Sir!! You following the conservative minister too much on his twitter.

Citizenship is NOT a right. This attitude of entitlement is flawed, and I would suggest you lose it ASAP.

Seems like more people will like to enjoy the pie rather than make efforts to cook it. Subservient citizens like you who wont raise voices is what politicians want....very ideal Sir with your (no) service to Canada. It is just hilarious how people have religious following to threads that count days and months toward citizenship applications, but nobody working to push government to reduce wait times. Very ideal citizens for the politicians...but not for society. Keep counting....there is a thread waiting for you..

There is a correct way to change the system, and then there are other way that come across as "whiny" and self serving. Unfortunately, you appear to fall into the latter category. Given your first post, you sound like you appreciate the Canadian democratic system as you are desperate to vote. If this is truly the case, why don't you take the time to learn about the Canadian legal system as well and use the tools and resources that are already there to further your cause? Filing whimsical and frivolous lawsuits against the government doesn't help anyone.

 

[bambino]

Actually the original poster has a point.

Well into the 1970s, the Citizenship Act read that "the Minister may, in his discretion, grant citizenship" to a person who met the requirements. Becoming a citizen then was in fact a matter of privilege. The current Act states that "the Minister shall grant" citizenship to a qualified applicant. And, for good measure, the part of the Act that contains that provision is titled "The Right to Citizenship".

Granted, applicants need to prove that they meet the requirements but to let their files collect dust for years before they are reviewed in any meaningful way is an absolute outrage. I don't know if what was posted about Switzerland is true. Even if it were, the process in Canada should be more properly compared to those in the US, Australia and New Zealand, where applications take 2 to 4 months total, on average.

 

[keesio]

Granted, applicants need to prove that they meet the requirements but to let their files collect dust for years before they are reviewed in any meaningful way is an absolute outrage. I don't know if what was posted about Switzerland is true. Even if it were, the process in Canada should be more properly compared to those in the US, Australia and New Zealand, where applications take 2 to 4 months total, on average.

I think we all agree on this. What people were arguing is if people who applied for citizenship should have the right to vote before they actually get granted their citizenship.

 

[Mary2009]

The Canadian Charter of Rights has exceptions where only citizens are covered and not PRs (sections 3 & 6 specifically). This is fact. So not everyone has the same rights.

I'm aware of this Keesio, but I was referring to equality for the "same procedures" with those who has the same status.

If someone is getting arrested... Government cannot give different rights based on wither or not you're a citizen, refugee, PR...etc
(unless its already in the law, for example f you're arresting a diplomat, there are different procedures).

The exceptions you're referring to, are related specifically with a "citizen" status.

Section #3 talks about voting rights... obviously citizens are not treated as PR in terms of who is eligible to vote.
Section #6 deals with mobility rights, again its obvious that a PR, cannot stay outside Canada for as much as he wants, as he/she would lose his status for failing to meet residency requirements.

As said, my point was to indicate that government is obligated to treat all (who have the same status & dealing with the same process) in the same manner of equality.

In a citizenship application, we won't compare a citizen to a PR (since the citizen is not an eligible applicant for a citizenship application! )

However, if 2 PR are applying for citizenship, they both must be treated the same way (in terms of requirements, eligibility, adequate processing time...etc)... if someone can prove otherwise.. well, that's a totally different story (government has no right to be judgmental of how to apply policies & laws)

Mary