bystander said:
Here is my point of view, I am sure others can add to the list.
PRs don't have the same rights as citizens, you are not allowed to vote and that's huge.
second thing is that with the new law, the pre-PR time doesn't count, which defeats the purpose of the law which is naturalization of PRs before receiving citizenship. In this new law, if you were in canada before your PR for 5 years, you are the same as whoever comes in as a PR from abroad, which is against the purpose of this law.
As for voting right, sure it is a big thing but not that big a deal as you think it is. Otherwise if it is really huge deal, the voter turnout would probably hover around 70-80% turnout. Nowadays it's around 40% or less.
You feel you are 2nd class because you can't vote. You mean you were denied a job because you can't vote? You lost charter protection because you can't vote? You don't have protection from job discrimination because you can't vote? Please don't give me the BS that you are second class all over voting rights? As far as I'm concerned you are no 2nd class.
As for defeating the purpose of naturalization for citizenship, you were either a visitor, a temporary worker or a temporary student. You were not staying on a permanent basis. The naturalization of PR to citizenship begins the moment you become PR which makes the most sense.
Under the new law, you are still getting it easy comparing to other countries requirements to get citizenship. US requires 5 years after Green card. European countries much longer. Not only the length of time to qualify is shorter, the cost to apply is still cheap compare to other countries. So be thankful that they didn't make it the same length of time as US or most European countries.
Screech339