I never understood the "intent" part. Someone's intent can change 20 minutes after becoming citizen, it has always looked to me as a "lipstick on a pig" exercise.
Regarding the cost, if you consider that the cost of citizenship can be spread on A LIFETIME, I am not sure it is entirely relevant, although there seems to be evidence, at least in Canada, of people not applying for citizenship due to financial constraints. But if you have lived in Canada for long enough, it should be relatively easy to obtain a credit card with an appropriate limit and pay it off over time. It is a once-in-a-lifetime expense, and one that changes your life.
Personally, I prefer a $2400 fee and a human processing time rather than what happens in Canada: generally speaking a 12-month processing time is ridiculous.
I find the UK very pragmatic from this point of view: even the process for obtaining PCC in the UK is extremely smooth, efficient and expensive. There is a dedicated website, £45 for the standard service (10 working days), £80 for the premium service (2 working days), they even office to ship back by courtier for an extra fee. It's expensive, but you get what you pay for.