links18 said:
Once you have met the requirements for a grant of citizenship you are ENTITLED BY LAW to become a citizen. Of course, CIC will look long and hard at you to make sure you actually did meet the requirements before granting you citizenship.
Yes, I completely agree with this. I've never argued that there shouldn't be requirements, in fact I would completely understand if CIC made qualifying slightly more extensive (longer time and maybe a real test). I wouldn't be surprised if they do this before I apply, and I won't gripe too much when they do.
At the same time, I think that PRs who live here for a long time without becoming citizens need some sort of protection from deportation for illegal activities, particularly kids who grew up here with parents who weren't able to apply for citizenship on their behalf. This, for me, is the real disadvantage of being a PR, the possibility of having it revoked -- not for violent crime or blatantly illegal activity, but for actions that are more attributable to youthful carelessness, like driving without insurance; or for things that Canadians of all types do routinely without consequences, like smoking pot. I'm not saying that people routinely lose PR for this, but it is probably possible.