The media talks about increasing the residency requirement to 4 out of 6 (currently 3 out of 4). The part which seems missing in the news is that under the proposed bill the time spent in Canada before becoming PR will not count towards citizenship requirement. So, People who lived in Canada before becoming PR will be affected twice as much.
Let me explain. Under the current law, each day spent in Canada counts as a half a day (up to 1 year) towards citizenship requirement. International students, temporary workers, and refugees are examples of this group who lived in Canada before becoming PR. If the proposed bill passes, the time spent before PR will not count towards citizenship. So, these people will see an increase in the residency requirement of 1 year (compared to the current law) as well as the elimination of their residence in Canada before becoming PR (up to 1 year). So, it means up to 2 years delays for some people, if the proposed bill passes.
Important points: 1-People who spent time in Canada before becoming PR experienced Canada, its people, nature, and heritage. It is not clear how eliminating those days and not counting them towards citizenship requirement increase their sense of belonging to Canada. 2- The situation is even more dire for some people. People who spent time in Canada before becoming PR sometimes their application for PR took up to 4 years. Imaging a person who lived in Canada for 4 years and now realizes that all his/her time before becoming PR will not count towards citizenship requirement.
