Early July 2007 finds me in our Member of Parliament's (MP) office. A MP is an elected official to the lower house of commons, or Canadian House of Commons. For you Americans, it is equal to a U.S. State Representative. I had read that sometimes these officials can be useful in lighting a fire under CIC's arses, so we thought, why not? We don't have much to lose at this point.
My husband and I arrive hopeful as this is our last gasp of air in this process. If this doesn't go well, we might as well pack up and move to Mars. Anyway, our meeting is not with the MP directly, it is with the MP's assistant. I shall call him Len. Now Len, looks to be freshly graduated from high school, but my husband and I sit at his desk, with a copy of our applications, birth certificates, passports, 8x10 color glossies with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one describing what each photo is, etc., and prepare to spill out our sob story. Len nods as he listens. Len tells us he can fax the CIC Etobicoke office and request the status. (He has the direct number to call them, just as he has the fax number, but he chooses the fax.) He informs us that it will take about 2 weeks before the CIC office responds and for us to call him back then.
The 2 week period passes and I call Len. Len confirms that he does have a response from the CIC Etobicoke office and the office says they do have our file and that they currently have a 12 month backlog. Len says "We have to respect that office's time line, so if you don't hear anything, say, by mid November, please call me and let me know. I can't do anything until then."
*sigh* I am completely drained.
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