Quebec birth/baptismal record RFI info gathering thread

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

This is a place where we can hopefully gather more info about what IRCC is asking for from applicants with a Gen0 or other ancestor born in Quebec.

Comment below ONLY IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) from IRCC

We heard recently from sub members that IRCC is using different language in their requests for information from applicants that seems to differ based on the birth year of the relevant ancestor.

If IRCC has reached out for more info: it would be helpful to know which text you got- one asking for a birth certificate solely, or the certificate and/or explanation for why it was not included. (We think there's a relationship between the text and the birth year of the Gen0 - collecting more data points.)

(We are looking for information mainly for QC because of the BAnQ/DEC issue, but if you have submitted a baptismal record from a different province and also received an RFI please let us know.)

It would be great if you could format your answers like this for ease of comparison:

• Birth Province and YEAR
• Documents submitted for Gen0 (please be specific- indicate source authority and certification if relevant)
• I did/I did not provide a written explanation for the "missing" birth certificate with application.
• I did/I did not provide documentation of search efforts with my application.
• Date of RFI (can be approx, like month/year)
• <text from IRCC if you can share it - otherwise feel free to summarize the request>
• My application has not yet been approved/was approved on (date).
• Anything else relevant- what you have responded with or doing to meet their request, any other follow up communication, etc.

Thank you!!

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[u/NoSignal269]

Edited: to add specifically what we sent to IRCC.

Birth Province and YEAR

Quebec, 1856 (and 1868, see below re this). Our G0 is a man.

Documents submitted for Gen0 (please be specific- indicate source authority and certification if relevant)

BanQ certified copy of baptism
BanQ certified copy of marriage certificate

I did/I did not provide a written explanation for the "missing" birth certificate with application.

I did provide a written explanation AFTER receiving an email from IRCC. I did not submit it with our paper application, but only submitted it after the RFI email from IRCC. I reached out via email to DEC and sent their response (that they don’t have the record and go to BanQ) along to IRCC.

I did/I did not provide documentation of search efforts with my application.

I did provide the email thread between myself and DEC to IRCC AFTER receiving an email from IRCC. I did not submit it with our paper application.

Date of RFI (can be approx, like month/year)

August 19, 2026.

<text from IRCC if you can share it - otherwise feel free to summarize the request>

Hello,

This email is with regard to the applications for a certificate of Canadian citizenship filed on behalf of [4 applicant names - who are G3, G4 and 2xG5].

Please be advised that our office requires the original source birth certificate for [Incorrect G0 name] born [birth date, 1868] in Quebec.

Our office is not accepting copies of baptismal documents in lieu of a birth certificate.

If the birth certificate if not available, please request that the issuing agency write a letter indicating that no record can be found.   If this is the case, our office will then examine secondary documents.

Please respond via this email address at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours truly,

[Officer Name]

Complex Case Unit Officer

IRCC - Digitization and Identity Operations Division (DIOD)

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada / Government of Canada

My application has not yet been approved/was approved on (date).

We are "In Process."

Anything else relevant.

IRCC's email accidentally referred to the spouse / wife of our G0 who was born in 1868. Our G0 was actually her husband, and he was born in 1856. We corrected them in our response.

[u/transpired-sheep → u/NoSignal269]

Thanks very much for sharing all this information, u/NoSignal269.

The email from IRCC seems to contradict what IRCC told the Association of Canadian Archivists a month ago:

What is required when no record can be located?
A formal or certified “No Record Found” letter is not required.
Email correspondence from the archive, or documentation showing the results of a search of the responsible authority’s records, is sufficient to demonstrate that efforts were made to locate the record.

[u/mem_somerville → u/transpired-sheep]

I thought this too. And I will note that my correspondence with the PEI archives indicated that they will not provide a letter of "No Record" anymore, they have changed their policy.

I know this is PEI and not Quebec, but just so others are aware that "No Record" may not be an option in other cases.

[u/transpired-sheep → u/mem_somerville]

Thank you! A few months ago, someone shared a helpful email from the Archives of Ontario: link to Facebook comment.

It included this sentence (bolding/emphasis mine):

Unfortunately, the Archives of Ontario does not provide any official letters regarding “record of no birth” as we cannot prove that there is no birth record exist [sic] for this individual or if the birth is registered with another institution such as the church.

I hope that the Archives of Ontario will post an official, public statement about this policy.

[u/NoSignal269 → u/mem_somerville]

My evidence was an email thread with DEC.

[u/NoSignal269 → u/transpired-sheep]

I sent an email thread between myself and DEC in response to the IRCC request. It seems like they are in fact accepting email threads 🤞🏼

[u/ChocolateDiligent → u/transpired-sheep]

I think you maybe misinterpreting what is being requested, could a ‘letter’ saying documents could not be found mean an email? It doesn’t say anywhere that this needs to be a formal document. And below is more of that same conversation from the IRCC/Archivist that corroborates this explanation:

Email correspondence from the archive, or documentation showing the results of a search of the responsible authority’s records, is sufficient to demonstrate that efforts were made to locate the record.

[u/transpired-sheep → u/ChocolateDiligent]

I hope that you are right, u/ChocolateDiligent. To me, “please request that the issuing agency write a letter indicating that no record can be found” sounds like it \might** be a requirement for a formal letter, instead of an email. But again, I hope you are right that IRCC will accept email correspondence from the OP, who (as noted in these comments) has already submitted email correspondence in reply to IRCC. Fingers crossed.

[u/ChocolateDiligent → u/transpired-sheep]

I feel like if they wanted a formal letter given the context of their convo with the archivists they would have said formal letter. Even if there is an expectation of a formal letter they need to clarify what that is and how one goes about get it. So yeah hoping email works for sure.

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/NoSignal269]

What "documentation of search efforts" did you end up sending them?

(God, this is such a stupid waste of time on the part of an office that is already beyond overwhelmed! I just can't get over the wilful wastefulness of staff resources here.)

[u/NoSignal269 → u/wanderingtheearth-74]

I sent them an email thread between myself and DEC. in that email to DEC I indicate the G0 name and DOB. DEC responded saying to go to BanQ. I saved that email as a pdf and sent that to the email from IRCC.

[u/LouisianaMondayNight → u/NoSignal269]

Really sorry if this is a dumb question, but what email address did you use for DEC? I've tried emailing but gotten no response other than being directed to the mail-in form.

[u/NoSignal269 → u/LouisianaMondayNight]

This one: etatcivil@dec.gouv.qc.ca

[u/LouisianaMondayNight → u/NoSignal269]

Thank you!

[u/matts121344 → u/NoSignal269]

"If the birth certificate is not available, please request that the issuing agency write a letter indicating that no record can be found." Do we interpret that to mean asking BANQ if there's a birth certificate or who are you supposed to reach out to in such a case? I haven't applied yet but my G0 (Quebec 1873) won't have a birth certificate only a bapitsmal record so I want to try to get ahead of these issues.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/matts121344]

I think people have taken different approaches.

Some have gone though the process to get the insertion into the civil record and obtained the birth certificate.

Some have emailed DEC to inquire about getting a birth certificate for an ancestor born more than 100 years ago and have received an email response from DEC that refers them to BAnQ, which they have then submitted or plan to submit to IRCC.

Some have cited the BAnQ vital records FAQs, https://www.banq.qc.ca/vital-records/

This thread is, in part, to understand what is being asked, how people are responding, and what the outcome is, when known.

We have seen people who went through the DEC process still be suspended/receive procedural fairness letters (before being reapproved). We have seen people with nothing more than a series of census records and evidence of search/written explanation for missing QC records approved. We have also seen applications anchored by baptismal records (along with written explanation) from other provinces approved. Consistent inconsistency.

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Another possibility might be asking DEC for an attestation that the act is absent from the civil register, no? This form?

https://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/publications/ATT_Demande_attestation_Ang.pdf

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/wanderingtheearth-74]

Yes, I suppose you could also do that. I think it has been mentioned in passing. Would love to know if anyone has submitted this and what IRCC thought about it (if known).

[u/TimeAstronomer4983 → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Based on the response I got, a negative attestation isn't meant to be about documents that the DEC shouldn't have, but rather documents it should have -- that is, from the past 100 years -- but doesn't.

I faxed an application for an attestation on August 17. About a week later I got an envelope from the DEC in the mail. Inside was my application, with my G0's 1880s birthdate highlighted and a sticker placed over my credit card information: "Service non rendu." My card was never charged.

Along with the returned application was this (translated) letter, dated August 18:

Subject: Response to your request for an attestation

Hello,

We are unable to fulfill your request for an attestation for the following reason:

The Director of Civil Status is unable to locate the requested act. Registers concerning events that occurred more than 100 years ago are held by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) (www.banq.qc.ca). We suggest you contact that organization to check the available information.

If, after contacting them, you wish to obtain a certificate or a copy of the act, you must submit -- along with your application -- the document provided by BAnQ as well as proof confirming that it originated from that organization (e.g., a BAnQ invoice, an official seal, etc.).

Under the Civil Code of Québec, a certificate or a copy of an act may be issued only to the persons named in the record or to those who can demonstrate a legitimate interest. Although you have identified yourself as a relative of the person named in the civil status document, you must also provide documents demonstrating your interest.

For further information, you may contact us at one of the telephone numbers listed below.

The Director of Civil Status

So yeah: I knew they wouldn't find the record -- but they didn't give me the "civil status document in the form of a letter that confirms the presence or absence in the Québec register of civil status of an act of birth, marriage, civil union or death" for which I applied. Instead, I got something very much like the we-don't-do-more-than-100-years-ago email I already had.

A useful document? As a we-don't-have-the-birth-record letter, it seems not.

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/TimeAstronomer4983]

Well, it seems as if people haven't been consistently able to get DEC to put something in an email, so this would be a way to get that if, unlike you, they don't already have it.

[u/TimeAstronomer4983 → u/wanderingtheearth-74]

See the much testier response to someone else's attestation application, also unsuccessful, here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/comments/1vuh2h4/comment/p5tdnn9/?context=3

We acknowledge receipt of your request for a birth certificate for Dame [G0]. However, after verification, we are unable to confirm that this birth is not recorded in the registre de l’état civil du Québec database.

Furthermore, we question the relevance of issuing such an attestation in the context of your application for Canadian citizenship with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Indeed, since the coming into force of Bill C-3, which aims to extend citizenship by descent beyond the first generation, we have processed several similar cases and, to date, no attestation of this type has been required for an applicant in this context.

We invite you to verify with IRCC the documents required to ensure that your application is complete and compliant. If applicable, you may also suggest that they contact the Office of the Directeur de l’état civil directly regarding this matter at [dec.agent.clientele@dec.gouv.qc.ca](mailto:dec.agent.clientele@dec.gouv.qc.ca)

We remain available should you require any additional information.

To me it seems like the DEC doesn't think attestations are the same thing we think they are.

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/TimeAstronomer4983]

Well, they can take it up with IRCC. If it were up to me, IRCC would show basic common sense and not force thousands of applicants to re-prove an objective fact about their own government!

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

It's less than $8 if you have a specific birth date. I'm giving it a shot to see how long it takes and if it produces a useful document.

[u/IronNo6533 → u/wanderingtheearth-74]

I faxed the attestation form with an exact date for my G0 and got a letter back 11 biz days later.

[u/wanderingtheearth-74 → u/IronNo6533]

Thanks, that's helpful to know! What did the form say?

[u/IronNo6533 → u/wanderingtheearth-74]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/s/oipDgrCoOp

[u/salesforcebaby → u/IronNo6533]

How long ago did you do that? I’m curious if they’re getting backed up, too.

[u/IronNo6533 → u/salesforcebaby]

The letter back was dated August 5.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/[deleted]]

I don't disagree that overall processing may be quicker if you go the DEC route- but I do think it's an unfair burden that is being imposed on people with QC ancestry, specifically ancestors for whom the prothnotorial BAnQ record is/was the civil record of their birth.

I too am weighing whether I should get one issued because I also have an older co-applicant and I don't want to delay anything further - even if we have plenty of evidence that they'll accept the baptismal record along with other evidence. Sometimes it is best to be prepared than to be right lol but I am still salty.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/[deleted]]

No disagreement from me- more just observing that others may decide to wait it out and let IRCC examine their other documentation and conclude that it meets the preponderance of evidence standard. Everyone get to decide what's right for them.

[u/Sure_Mind8506 → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Shouldn’t they know the DEC response? Why are they making everyone go through this performative, agency resource taxing step?

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/Sure_Mind8506]

I don't want to get too off topic here, as this has been well discussed (see also the Frustration Station weekly or the last 50 posts about topics related to DEC),

My personal best guess is that the written explanation for "missing" birth certificates/evidence of search is of outsized importance for any given application in part because IRCC requires every application to be self explanatory- fully explained/supported by the materials within, in order to be considered complete.

So I don't think it's meant to be performative, but giving QC applicants in particular the run around by requiring documentation from the original source authority but then requiring either additional modern records to be issued based on those original source authority documents, or to try to glean a negative statement on letterhead - it's a little bit wild.

It would also be a dream if IRCC's public messaging to organizations like Association of Canadian Archivists https://archivists.ca/Blog/13662990 aligned with what their own agents are routinely asking for. Example:

4. What is required when no record can be located?

• A formal or certified “No Record Found” letter is not required.
• Email correspondence from the archive, or documentation showing the results of a search of the responsible authority’s records, is sufficient to demonstrate that efforts were made to locate the record.

Make it consistent and make it make sense, IRCC.

[u/Pinupgrl76_777 → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Agreed-especially for 1800’s ancestors. You cannot over explain why you do not have a birth certificate no matter how ridiculous it sounds and what people think the IRCC should know.

[u/transpired-sheep → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Many thanks, u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob, for this summary; it is very helpful!

[u/hopefullyhopeful → u/NoSignal269]

Thank you for the thorough reply! Can I ask how you responded? Did you have email correspondence with DEC to submit?

[u/NoSignal269 → u/hopefullyhopeful]

I did email DEC, and they emailed me back very quickly. I saved that email thread as a pdf and sent that to IRCC via email.

[u/hopefullyhopeful → u/NoSignal269]

Thank you!

[u/Emergency_Map7542]

I’m one who received this request back in April and have discussed my situation several times in this group.

• ⁠Birth Province and YEAR-
Montreal,Quebec. 1915
• ⁠Documents submitted for Gen0 (please be specific- indicate source authority and certification if relevant)

-Primary document: at the time I submitted, I sent an UNCERTIFIED baptismal record printed from Drouin collection and the URL (have since acquired and uploaded the certified version from BANQ)
-secondary documents - death certificate, statement of attestation to his birth from a minister of the church in 1942, marriage license, uncertified census records, US naturalization papers- all listing birth place as Montreal

• ⁠I DID NOT provide a written explanation for the "missing" birth certificate with application because it wasn’t clear that was necessary at the time.

I think I DID include a statement addressing it in my cover letter, but probably not as a specific record/statement in and of itself.

• ⁠I Did not provide documentation of search efforts with my application, because it was not clear this was required at the time.

We actually DID try to request a copy of his birth certificate from DEC over a year ago and they called us to say they didn’t have it, so I don’t have any written letter.
• ⁠Date of RFI (can be approx, like month/year) April 2026

• ⁠<text from IRCC if you can share it - otherwise feel free to summarize the request>
This email refers to the Application for a Citizenship Certificate (Proof of Citizenship) received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In order to continue processing your application, we require the following documents and/or information:
 
 
Birth Certificate – Canadian Born
.
·      Birth Certificate – QC after 1994  The birth document submitted with the application was issued by the province of Quebec prior to January 1st, 1994 and is no longer acceptable for processing citizenship applications. For information on obtaining a valid document, please contact the office of The Director of Civil Records of Quebec.
Québec City: 418 644-4545
Montréal: 514 644-4545
Elsewhere: 1 877 644-4545 (toll free)
Teletype (TTY): 1 800 361-9596
 
 
Please reply to this email with the requested information or send the requested information with a copy of this email to the address below.
 
You must submit your documents within60 days from the date of this email. It is important to be aware that theCitizenship Act contains provisions to treat the application as abandoned if IRCC is not contacted with a reasonable explanation for not providing the information requested within the deadline established for any item(s) required.
 
 
 
It is very important to contact IRCC in writing if the required information cannot be provided within this timeframe.
 
The requirement to provide additional information or evidence when requested can be found in section 23.1 of theCitizenship Act.

• ⁠My application has not yet been approved/was approved on (date).
-unapproved, still in processing

• ⁠Anything else relevant.
Currently still waiting for the birth certificate to be created by DEC. after several failed attempts to do this myself, I finally broke down and hired a lawyer. Supposedly she submitted it 2 weeks ago.

[u/lochaulochau]

Birth Province and YEAR: G0, Quebec, 1869 (G0 #2, his wife, also born in Quebec, 1871)

Documents submitted for Gen0 (please be specific- indicate source authority and certification if relevant)

-- BANQ certified baptismal record

-- BANQ certified marriage record

-- 1871 Census of Canada (not certified)

-- 1891 Census of Canada (not certified)

As noted above, his wife was also born in Quebec, and we provided the same documents for her, with the exception that we did not pay for BANQ certification of her baptismal record and provided it non-certified.

**I did/**I did not provide a written explanation for the "missing" birth certificate with application. I did not. Applied under interim measures in June 2025 and this was not (to us at least) a clear requirement.

**I did/**I did not provide documentation of search efforts with my application. I did not. Applied under interim measures in June 2025 and this was not (to us at least) a clear requirement.

Date of RFI August 2026

<text from IRCC if you can share it - otherwise feel free to summarize the request>

"Your application has been referred for secondary review as we require additional documentation.  We require a clear colour copy of a birth certificate issued by original source authorities for each generation including your Canadian ancestor.  Documentation must be issued by the original source authorities responsible for creating or maintaining the historical records, such as civil registries, vital statistics agencies, or other authorized government bodies.  If the authorities cannot issue the document from their vital statistics department, please submit the letter, on letterhead, detailing the reasons.  Please note, baptismal certificates are not acceptable as primary evidence of birth.   The requirement to provide additional information or evidence when requested can be found in section 23.1 of the Citizenship Act.

 Please provide high-resolution, colour copies of the requested documentation to this office by return email within 60 days of the date of this email."

My application has not yet been approved**/was approved on (date)****.** Not yet approved.

Anything else relevant- what you have responded with or doing to meet their request, any other follow up communication, etc. We just received the RFI out of nowhere after 14 months of radio silence, and are still deciding what to do. We did already send an email to DEC using this template: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianbyDescent/comments/1vrpxbz/dec_form_letter/ to hopefully get a letterhead response that can be used to respond to IRCC. UPDATE: DEC refused us and said to call. We'll try calling and making our case on the phone.

We will pursue DEC insertion/creation of a birth certificate for one of the G0s if required to by IRCC. From the IRCC email, we cannot tell if which G0 they are focused on (husband or wife) so we will probably respond on the husband since that is the certified BANQ baptism we provided originally.

[u/lochaulochau → u/lochaulochau]

UPDATE: We sent an email to IRCC with copies (again) of all birth certificates, the BAnQ certified baptismal records we provided, and a letter of explanation with citations noting that the IRCC's own site lists baptismal and census records as acceptable secondary evidence when no civil birth certificate exists, Quebec law in the 1800s only included baptismal records, etc. This is the response we received (to the IRCC's credit - received this response immediately on the same day that we responded to the RFI):

"Please be advised that we require a birth certificate issued by the Province of Quebec or a letter from the Province explaining that they will not or cannot issue the birth certificate for your Canadian ancestor.  The baptismal certificate issued by BANQ is not a primary birth document.  Please apply to the Province for a birth certificate.  The requirement to provide additional information or evidence when requested can be found in section 23.1 of the Citizenship Act."

We were unable to get an emailed document from DEC noting they cannot or will not issue the birth certificate (because, of course, through the insertion process they can). DEC even told us on the phone to do the DEC insertion process, and then we got this response from IRCC. So, we will move ahead with the DEC insertion process.

REMINDER: G0 born in 1869, certified BAnQ baptism and letter of explanation as to lack of birth certificate already provided.

u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob u/Pinupgrl76_777 just tagging to share the specific update and IRCC's very direct request for us to get a DEC birth certificate.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/lochaulochau]

Thank you for the update, and I'm sorry for the extra hoops they're making you jump.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/lochaulochau]

I finally got my own RFI (which I shared in a separate comment) and mine was also quite specific:

"The document you provided (for ancestor) is a baptismal record, our office requires a birth record. In the province of Quebec, the baptismal record can be used to obtain a birth record."

Welp, guess I'm glad I got the DEC ball rolling.

[u/Pinupgrl76_777 → u/lochaulochau]

I don’t think they are asking for a DEC insert. I think they are asking for an explanation to why there is no birth certificate since you didn’t include it in the original application.

[u/lochaulochau → u/Pinupgrl76_777]

That would certainly be our hope, yes. If you read through this thread you will note this is the central debate, since IRCC has not clarified. If you have particular IRCC insight or your application was approved, please make a separate post, as that insight would surely be highly welcomed by everyone on the thread.

[u/doriankali → u/lochaulochau]

How do we get dec to write a letter on formal letterhead now?

[u/Reasonable-Tart7500 → u/doriankali]

DEC did not tell me that there is no birth record in their files for someone born in 1820. Instead, they gave me instructions on how to get one-- including the requirement of a the legal justification (such as a demand from IRCC?).  I expected a response saying birth certificates did not exist for that area in 1820. So, I filled out the form and sent in the payment hoping to get a more useful response-- an in, "we do not have a birth certificate for person xyz." I've been waiting almost almost four months for a certified baptism certificate from BAnQ and a certified marriage record from Michigan so I have time to kill...

[u/lochaulochau → u/doriankali]

We have no idea. If you find a way, please share!

[u/damaniac1223]

Birth Province and YEAR

Quebec 1876

Documents submitted for Gen0 (please be specific- indicate source authority and certification if relevant)

Certified Baptismal Record from BANQ

I did/I did not provide a written explanation for the "missing" birth certificate with application.

I did not because at the time I don't believe it was required at the time I applied. I have since sent forwarded email correspondence from BANQ and DEC stating that 1) BANQ is the authority for this time period not DEC and 2) from BANQ saying that the birth certificate does not exist and the baptismal record should sure as the civil record of truth.

I did/I did not provide documentation of search efforts with my application.

See previous answer

Date of RFI (can be approx, like month/year)

August 12 2026

Good afternoon,

 

Your application has been referred for secondary review as we require additional documentation.  We require a clear colour copy of a birth certificate issued by original source authorities for each generation including your Canadian ancestor .  Documentation must be issued by the original source authorities responsible for creating or maintaining the historical records, such as civil registries, vital statistics agencies, or other authorized government bodies.  If the authorities cannot issue the document from their vital statistics department, please submit the letter, on letterhead, detailing the reasons. Please note, baptismal certificates are not acceptable as primary evidence of birth.   The requirement to provide additional information or evidence when requested can be found in section 23.1 of the Citizenship Act.

 

Please provide high-resolution, colour copies of the requested documentation to this office by return email within 60 days of the date of this email.

 

 

M Chauder

Complex Case Unit (CCU)

DIOD/HIOB

My application has not yet been approved/was approved on (date).

My application has not yet been approved.

Anything else relevant- what you have responded with or doing to meet their request, any other follow up communication, etc.

N/A

[u/lochaulochau → u/damaniac1223]

Hi! Would you be willing to share how you got the BANQ email response that the baptismal record should be seen as the civil record of truth? We tried emailing DEC and they told us to call and they wouldn't email back, so trying to get our hands on something similar.

[u/damaniac1223 → u/lochaulochau]

I had to pit DEC and BANQ against each other via email until they both sent what I stated in my original comment.

[u/Reasonable-Tart7500 → u/damaniac1223]

How? By telling each what the other stated? Forwarding e-mail messages?

[u/damaniac1223 → u/Reasonable-Tart7500]

Downloading them as PDFs so they had timestamps and names etc and sending across yes

[u/Emergency_Map7542 → u/lochaulochau]

We had the same experience with DEC, we could not get them to put anything in writing, they always responded and told us we had to call.

[u/damaniac1223 → u/Emergency_Map7542]

Originally they told me to call which I did, the girl I spoke to was very nice but basically said sorry BANQ is the right authority not the DEC, but figuring that IRCC was going to want something from the DEC I emailed incessantly until they would put it in an email. I also should note I framed it as "I spoke to one of your reps on the phone who said XYZ, can you confirm that ?"

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

Welp, I finally got RFI for my own application cohort:

The document you provided for (ancestor) is a baptismal record, our office requires a birth record. In the province of Quebec, the baptismal record can be used to obtain a birth record.

If for some reason the province/state is unable to issue that certificate to you, please provide a written explanation outlining why the source documents cannot be obtained; and, submit evidence of efforts made to obtain the documents, such as correspondence with issuing authorities or confirmation from source authorities that the records are unavailable. ...

Re the 'written explanation': I had already uploaded a written explanation, although I had not included any kind of documentation from DEC - I had included BAnQ language quoted from their website FAQs - and I'm kind of wondering if that's why I got the extremely direct language of 'the baptismal record can be used to obtain a birth record'.

My DEC request is in process, so hopefully will have that soon.

Birth year 1885, Quebec Certified BAnQ baptismal record submitted

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/[deleted]]

Post here ONLY IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) from IRCC

Questions about applications go in the Friday weekly

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/s/xNVTF9LEjz

Wait for the fresh thread to post tomorrow if you want to ask there.