NationStates Jolt Archive


Dear Mr Prime Minister

Kryozerkia
24-01-2007, 22:13
As many of you Canadians (and Americans) know, we no longer have nice 'open' borders with each other. We can no longer visit without a plethora of documents proving that we're not some poor asshole that is on the 'no fly list' because he has the same name as a terrorist from a mudshack in Afghanistan.

So, with that, I present you this...

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.

How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a t.v. Cable from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.

For crying out loud, do you guys still do this by hand? My birth date, you have on my social insurance card, on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 50 years, my health insurance card, my driver's licence, on the last eight bloody passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 40 years, and all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die! Man!

I apologize, Mr. Minister. I'm really ticked off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my freakin' address. What is going on? You have a gang of Neanderthals workin' there?! Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Ben Laden? I don't want to dig up Yasser Araft, for crying out loud. I just want to go and park my butt on a sandy beach. And would someone please tell me, why would you care whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days?! If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city and get another bloody copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of $60! Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? Nooooo, that'd be too easy! You'd rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off, then find some bozo to confirm that it's really me on the stupid picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're ticked off!

Signed - An Irate Citizen
IL Ruffino
24-01-2007, 22:35
You have Radio Shack in Canada?!
Kryozerkia
24-01-2007, 22:40
You have Radio Shack in Canada?!

Yes. It was bought out, however, by The Source (owned by CC)...
Llewdor
24-01-2007, 22:46
Yes. It was bought out, however, by The Source (owned by CC)...
Actually, we never did.

The stores that were called Radio Shack were run by a different company entirely, but they licensed the name Radio Shack. That license expired, so they became The Source.
Smunkeeville
24-01-2007, 22:47
You have Radio Shack in Canada?!

yeah that's weird.

I never give them my phone number, they look so confused when I say "no" too.

"what's your phone number?"
"no"
"I need it to check you out"
"no, you don't, you are checking me out right now and my husband doesn't like it"
":confused:"


stupid radio shack people.
Socialist Pyrates
24-01-2007, 23:05
As many of you Canadians (and Americans) know, we no longer have nice 'open' borders with each other. We can no longer visit without a plethora of documents proving that we're not some poor asshole that is on the 'no fly list' because he has the same name as a terrorist from a mudshack in Afghanistan.

So, with that, I present you this...

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.

How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a t.v. Cable from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.

For crying out loud, do you guys still do this by hand? My birth date, you have on my social insurance card, on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 50 years, my health insurance card, my driver's licence, on the last eight bloody passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 40 years, and all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die! Man!

I apologize, Mr. Minister. I'm really ticked off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my freakin' address. What is going on? You have a gang of Neanderthals workin' there?! Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Ben Laden? I don't want to dig up Yasser Araft, for crying out loud. I just want to go and park my butt on a sandy beach. And would someone please tell me, why would you care whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days?! If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city and get another bloody copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of $60! Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? Nooooo, that'd be too easy! You'd rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off, then find some bozo to confirm that it's really me on the stupid picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're ticked off!

Signed - An Irate Citizen

funny but all very true...I have my original immigration papers, the Customs agent who processed it years ago approved it but misspelled my name, sort of... I have a two part name and he left out a space, it was an obvious error as my mother signed her name quite clearly and correctly on the same document. A stupid but obvious error that everyone could see, except one bureaucrat who says I'm not legally in the country as the names don't match(he/she had the original document)I would need to officially change my name. It didn't matter that the Income Tax people, Social Insurance and every other government department disagreed with him/her and recognized my spelling as correct....It took some time to sort it out, I had to go over their head to do so, but the frustration, it took months to overcome...