One man's story of applying for citizenship one day early

Plus, the fatal OPP shooting of a baby and a Raptor caught in a gambling probe [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on frustrations around Canada’s citizenship applications, the criminal trial of cops who fatally shot a baby and a gambling scandal encircling the Raptors. DON’T MISS Nicole Osborne/The Star immigration [After a decade in Canada, this man’s citizenship application wasn’t accepted — for filing one day early]( Daniel Aguilar has been waiting almost a decade to become a Canadian citizen. He now wishes he waited just one more day, Nicholas Keung reports. The Colombian man submitted his application in July, passed the citizenship exam in January and had his documents verified in a follow-up interview, but a date for his oath-taking ceremony never arrived. Seven months after submitting his application, he finally learned why: officials say he missed the required 1,095 days spent in Canada to receive citizenship — by a single day. Now he must start the whole process over again. [Here’s how Aguilar’s case highlights cracks in Canada’s immigration system](. - By the numbers: According to Statistics Canada, the number of permanent residents who acquired Canadian citizenship after meeting the residency requirement has fallen dramatically from 75 per cent in 1996 to just 46 per cent in 2021. - Go deeper: [Canada’s immigration department is mired in backlogs in all its programs]( as the number of pending citizenship, permanent and temporary residence requests continue to balloon. - Wait, what? Aguilar is dumbfounded why the system would force him to repeat the whole process when it’s got bigger issues to focus on — especially when his cumulative time spent in Canada far surpasses the requirements. “They are creating the backlog for themselves,” he said. Canadian Press/Doug Ives courts [Recordings reveal the chaos and confusion leading to the fatal OPP shooting of a baby]( Moments before three OPP officers fatally shot an 18-month-old child, police and dispatchers were scrambling to determine whether the toddler was with his father — an “unpredictable” man armed with a gun, who had a history of violence and mental health issues, Wendy Gillis reports. In the officers’ criminal trial Monday, recordings were heard from the chaotic 2020 pursuit that left William Shapiro and his son Jameson dead. “Does he have the son? I just — I’m not sure if we should maybe terminate it if he’s got a child,” one of the officers was heard saying. Crown prosecution later withdrew all charges against the officers, saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. [Take a closer look at the case](. - More: The evidence established the cops were acting in self-defence, after witnessing 33-year-old Shapiro slam his truck at an OPP officer and point a handgun out the window. They didn’t know Shapiro was holding his young son in his lap. - Even more: The unprecedented case marked the first time in the 30-year history of Ontario’s police watchdog that it investigated the police shooting of a young child. Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov raptors [Prop bets, early exits and big payouts: a Raptor has been linked to an NBA gambling probe]( Jontay Porter has found himself at the centre of a major gambling probe following “multiple instances” of betting irregularities, Doug Smith reports. The 24-year-old power forward reportedly drew attention when his poor performance in two games netted large payouts for those who bet accordingly. According to ESPN, prop bets for Porter’s underperformance were “the biggest money winner for bettors from among all NBA player props” when the Raptors faced the Clippers in January, and the “No. 1 moneymaker” when they tipped off against Sacramento last week. But Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said he didn’t notice anything amiss: “From my perspective as a coach, I never doubt injuries, I never doubt (the) honesty of players,” he said Monday. [Here’s what you need to know](. - What we know: Porter, who’s on a two-way contract expiring at the end of the season, was listed out of the Raptors lineup on Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets and missed Saturday’s game against the Wizards in Washington — both times for “personal reasons.” - Meanwhile: [Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani addressed the gambling allegations against him on Monday]( saying he never bet on sports or was aware his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole $4.5 million from him to pay off gambling debts.  WHAT ELSE The UN’s demand for a Gaza ceasefire is [provoking a major clash between the U.S. and Israel](. These voters cast ballots for Justin Trudeau before. [Here’s why they’re choosing Pierre Poilievre now](. Vladimir Putin is [twisting the tragedy of terrorism to serve his draconian dream](. Mélanie Joly says Ottawa is [evacuating vulnerable Canadian citizens out of Haiti](. Doug Ford keeps criticizing Trudeau’s carbon levy — [even as Ontario’s own levy collects $146 million](. “You just ran over a cop.” [An undercover officer testified Const. Northrup identified himself before he was killed](. A woman has been charged after a [child sustained life-altering injuries in a Toronto dog attack on Saturday](. Pre-construction condo buyers are being forced to [off-load units for as much as $150,000 less than they paid](. Major construction is done on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT — [here’s why it’s still not open](. Enbridge is leaving some homeowners [on the hook for thousands in green reno costs](. Donald Trump always needs someone to be the sucker. [In the hush money case, we can spot his next target](. [Can the viral “grape theory” and other rituals fill our spiritual void?]( POV Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images [I thought the last federal election campaign was ugly, but mark my words: the next one will be even worse.]( CLOSE-UP Niharika Kulkarni/AFP via Getty Images VARANASI: Indians joined in celebrations to mark the start of Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, on Monday. Clad in all white, revellers painted one another with coloured powders in the street. [Here’s how the tradition is celebrated](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_211138). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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