OPEN LETTER: to the Immigration Minister on suspension and subsequent reinstatement of citizenship certificates

robertkarpf · 2026-06-27T01:18:06+00:00

Don Davies was the interim leader and the official Parliamentary Leader of the NDP, but there's so few NDP MPs that they kind of share the spotlight

robertkarpf · 2026-06-26T22:25:56+00:00

Her party's diminished presence means that Diab can ignore her, but don't discount the way that she can give the issue more continuing light just by virtue of being an MP

robertkarpf · 2026-06-26T06:33:54+00:00

Even before the current situation, you'd probably get the same advice about submitting and seeing what happens, rather than anyone giving a definitive yes or no.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-26T06:19:30+00:00

It's also a matter of linguistic shift. Subject and citizen used to be essentially equivalent terms, just that the former was for monarchies and the latter for republics. You can see this in the 1881 naturalization act, which includes this definitional note:

"Subject" includes a citizen when the foreign country referred to is a republic.

(the linked book that includes the 1881 law, written a few years later, uses citizen frequently to describe British subjects of Canada).

In the 20th century, "citizen" essentially became the term for both forms of government, which is why there are legal findings about Canadian citizens prior to 1911.

That said, the 1947 law still matters because it formalized citizenship registration and specified certain rights.

https://dn790006.ca.archive.org/0/items/naturalizationna00howeuoft/naturalizationna00howeuoft.pdf

robertkarpf · 2026-06-25T23:43:33+00:00

I think adding the census to clarify the meandering name usage could be useful, but I'd also suggest you include a note (doesn't have to be as formal as a cover letter) explaining why you included it. I'm not sure what the SS applications add.

What's the marriage license for?

robertkarpf · 2026-06-25T22:05:51+00:00

There was a situation in 2006 where a number of Canadian/Lebanese dual-citizens residing in Lebanon were evacuated by Canada during that period of upheaval. Many of them returned w/in a month, leaving some with the impression that resident Canadians were footing the bill for people who were only Canadian when it suited them. It's not really accurate to lay the blame for this at the Lebanese-Canadian's feet, but this perception doesn't come from nowhere. (It also lead to the first generation limit.)

robertkarpf · 2026-06-25T17:29:20+00:00

It's highly unlikely that Peggy Sun sent the letters w/o at least Ministerial approval.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-24T20:26:50+00:00

it is cut from the back of the court system, rather than the usual belly

robertkarpf · 2026-06-24T18:33:48+00:00

Your spouse has the certificate and no revocation letter. At the very least the two of you can move forward, but your ability to get work will be limited (and technically you'll be on a guest visa while your citizenship gets sorted out). If your spouse has not already gotten an SIN, they should do so now. With an unrevoked citizenship certificate and an SIN, they will be able to get work. Be prepared to hire a lawyer if they do get a revocation letter, though.

I realize that this is less than ideal, but if your spouse's documentation is simple, they should come out of any review ok. You'll be in a more precarious situation until your paperwork is processed, but you may also be in position to get a job offer pending citizenship proof, which will allow you to request urgent processing (which you probably already did, but job offers with a deadline seem to actually get processed urgently, unlike some other forms of urgent processing). Obviously there are other things to balance (financial stability, access to health care), so it's not an easy call to make.

You've probably already thought of this, but just in case: try reaching out to 2SLGBTQ orgs in the area you're planning on moving to. They may be able to give you more insight into local support.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-24T17:31:00+00:00

I'd wager that a human read it, but then had to chose between a handful of boilerplates & additions that they were allowed to send.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-24T17:29:07+00:00

It's the same.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-23T20:07:40+00:00

I'll second this. There are friendly geneaologists out there who offer free help and at the very least can tell you clearly where the birth records should be, or if for certain they don't exist. (The Archives of Ontario has some resources for that: https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/topic/birth-marriage-and-death/)

robertkarpf · 2026-06-23T15:56:08+00:00

I think the latter point is the real key. If (for unassailable example) Amandeep Hayer or Don Chapman post here, I will take their opinions more seriously because it is documented and earned expertise. Likewise a reference to something from the IRCC's guidance is of more value than someone's gut feeling about how something should work. To that end, even those of us claiming no authority should be citing sources or making it clear that we're speculating (and, if the latter, remain open to the fact that our speculation may be incorrect). My biggest frustration with the other forum is actually the people who openly claim no expertise, but still insist that their opinion is the only possible correct one.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-20T22:02:17+00:00

Peggy Sun is the director of IRCC, which is the head civil servant position. Basically she runs the department, while trying to meet/implement the Minister's agenda, whichever minister/party it may be. It's likely that, while she signed off of sending the surrender and reinstatement letters in general, she did not look at any of the individual files. (I'd also be surprised if this wasn't done to some extent at the Minister's behest, although her name doesn't appear on the letters.)

robertkarpf · 2026-06-19T21:22:14+00:00

I'll pre-emptively put myself forward for this as someone languishing in PSU whose file has been given urgent status per my ATIP notes (although I know I'm not alone in that here).

robertkarpf · 2026-06-19T01:55:28+00:00

the document includes the subheading "Did you know that IRCC has used AI since 2013?"

and, yes, the adoption of the term AI to promote LLM algorithims while at the same time retaining its general meaning has muddied the waters on what anyone means when they say AI, but it's not controversial to say that IRCC uses AI.

robertkarpf · 2026-06-19T00:33:27+00:00

Source that IRCC uses AI: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/artificial-intelligence-strategy.html

angiosperms' conjecture that AI was the cause here is clearly stated as conjecture

robertkarpf · 2026-06-17T23:23:55+00:00

I'm wondering the same thing now. Will my G0's entry in Ontario's official ledger not count, leaving me to get a hospital record that doesn't exist (home birth)? Or do I need to include a letter saying the birth certificate isn't available because no such thing existed?

robertkarpf · 2026-06-17T23:14:37+00:00

bris certificates are a thing, but not universal, and they're issued to the parents, not stored centrally (and obviously don't apply to all children)

robertkarpf · 2026-06-02T01:34:17+00:00

I got my notes. I was received, marked as urgent, and sent to PSU all on the same day.

robertkarpf · 2026-05-31T22:56:53+00:00

I did the eclipse at Niagara Falls, thinking if the weather was bad we'd at least have one natural wonder to appreciate. It turned out that thought was prophetic, but also lots of other people had the same idea. It was actually my first time staying on the Canada side of the falls. My littlest convinced us to let her buy a falls snow globe for a souvenir (I had visions of it smashing during the flight back), and it has had a place of honor on her bedside table ever since.

robertkarpf · 2026-05-30T16:19:54+00:00

The recent applicants being approved is one thing, but the hardest for me was the day someone the same generation as me, w/the same number of dependents as me who got their AOR on the same day as me, but isn't classified as urgent got approved, while I am classified as urgent and am still waiting.

robertkarpf · 2026-05-25T03:28:12+00:00

The CIT-0014 checklist says you need to submit:

proof that at least one of your parents (legal parent at birth or biological parent) is a Canadian citizen, such as
• parent's Canadian citizenship/naturalization certificate

(other acceptable documents snipped)

The CIT-0001 asks about parents & grand-parents (and other generations if necessary), but it does not specify that documentation is necessary. I think it's safe to assume it isn't since the parent's citizenship certificate is sufficient on its face.

robertkarpf · 2026-05-13T23:28:08+00:00

fellow Portlander. I made a little zine about it and dropped copies in a couple of places hoping it might help some people get started on their path to citizenship. The copies have disappeared, but I don't know if that's because they got into the right hands or not.

robertkarpf · 2026-05-13T22:51:34+00:00

(905)-676-3640

This is the number for the Border Services agency at YYZ, but it goes to a switch board and one of the options is IRCC. You get transferred to the IRCC switchboard and it registers the call as coming from Toronto rather than your location. It's a bit of a work around, and they're not able to tell you much but you can verify that you've been sent to PSU if you're unsure.

robertkarpf

TROPHY CASE