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Citizenship by Descent Gets Practical, and WestJet Adds Strike Wiggle Room.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Citizenship by Descent Gets Practical
The citizenship-by-descent rush has moved from big headline to kitchen-table paperwork. CIC News asked lawyers the questions they keep hearing from people trying to prove Canadian citizenship through a family line, and the answers are very much in the weeds.
Missing birth records are not a dead end, but IRCC wants proof that applicants tried to get them. That can mean no-record letters, sibling records, marriage certificates, death certificates, court name-change papers, and a cover letter that explains the trail without making the officer play genealogy detective.
The timeline is the part that will make people sigh into their coffee. CIC says standard eligibility checks can take about a week, collecting documents can take one to six months, and IRCC proof-of-citizenship processing is sitting at about 19 months at the moment. For families abroad trying to line up passports, school plans, or a move back, the paper chase is now the real project.
Read more: CIC News
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WestJet Adds Strike Wiggle Room
WestJet is giving some passengers a free escape hatch before a possible flight-attendant strike hits home in the middle of long-weekend travel. Travellers booked from July 30 to Aug. 4 are now allowed to make a one-time change or cancellation without paying the usual fee.
The strike (if it comes) could start as early as Aug. 2 after 4,400 flight attendants represented by CUPE Local 8125 voted 99.4 per cent in favour of a walkout. Global News says the fight is centred on unpaid work, including time before boarding and after landing that flight attendants say can add up to 35 unpaid hours a month.
There is a catch (air travel loves a catch!). WestJet Encore Q400 flights and codeshare flights run by partner airlines are not expected to be hit, and a cancellation may leave passengers with travel bank credit rather than cash. For Canadians abroad connecting through Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, or home, that distinction might be one worth noting.
Read more: Global News / Global News