Citizenship-applicants and their supporters are calling on the federal government to address the backlog that is preventing thousands from becoming Canadian citizens.
A group called Advocates for Resumption of Canadian Citizenship Tests held demonstrations in Toronto and Montreal on November 7. The group was formed in response to the backlog in citizenship applicants waiting to get re demanding approved for a test, or for a citizenship ceremony. Their next demonstration will be in Ottawa on November 28.
Canada’s immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), cancelled all citizenship tests, interviews, and ceremonies on March 14 in response to the pandemic. IRCC began offering online citizenship ceremonies in April, at a rate of about 2,500 to 3,000 per week; significantly down from the 4,700 they were processing per week in 2019.
Citizenship applicants must demonstrate basic knowledge of Canada, as per the Citizenship Act. Applicants now must meet this requirement by doing the citizenship test, which is currently not available online. Though some in-person retesting has resumed, this means for many that they are unable to get Canadian citizenship. As of September, there were about 85,000 people waiting to take the citizenship test.
As a result, they are unable to vote, work in certain government jobs, or get a Canadian passport.
This is affecting their ability to travel home, the need to unnecessarily extend their PR status etc.
Being a citizen comes with a sense of security, especially for people who fled war zones to come to Canada.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters on November 12 that IRCC is working on virtual citizenship testing, but did not say exactly when they would be available.
“With regards to virtual citizenship testing that is something my department is working very, very hard on to launch and we hope to say more on that in the very near future,” Mendicino said.
