Passport delays: Feds announce new service locations as backlog continues


OTTAWA-

The federal government is adding new passport service points across Canada as the backlog in processing applications continues.

Social Development Minister Karina Gould announced Wednesday that people can now apply for and pick up passports at Service Canada centers in Red Deer, Alta., Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Trois-Rivières, Que., and Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Nearly 1.1 million applications for new and renewed passports have been submitted since April as pandemic restrictions ease and Canadians start to travel again.

More than a quarter of these had not yet been processed at the beginning of this month.

Government statistics show that the system is beginning to catch up with demand, as the gap between the number of passport applications each month and the number of passports issued is narrowing.

But a significant backlog remains.

During the first week of August, the number of passports issued within 40 working days of an application fell to 72%, from 81% the previous week.

Those numbers aren’t noticeably better than numbers from late June, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to respond to growing complaints and called the system’s performance “unacceptable.”

The week of June 20, the percentage of passports issued within 40 working days was 76%.

Wait times at call centers have dropped significantly in the meantime, and “triage measures” have been implemented at 17 passport offices to ease in-person headaches.

Yet delays persist as walk-in visits to most offices are limited and many Canadians wait weeks or months before they can get an appointment.

Urgent services for people who can prove they need a passport within 48 hours are only available in major urban centers – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Gatineau and Quebec.

Proof of upcoming travel is also required for service within two months at offices with 10-day processing times, including those announced on Wednesday.

As backlash on wait times continues, some reports suggest Canadians are making ‘fake’ travel plans to show passport officers, then canceling their flights once their application is in the queue .

Passports for in-person applications are issued within the 10-day window 95% of the time, a standard that has remained stable throughout the summer.

Gould said the government had not predicted how much demand would rise earlier this year and was unprepared for a glut of mailed-in applications.

For passport applications sent by post, a government website currently predicts a 13-week wait, plus courier time.

Since the end of July, people who have waited more than 20 business days for a mail-in application and who are traveling within the next 20 business days can visit Service Canada offices to request a transfer, increasing the chances that they get their request. processed before they have to leave.

In response to demand, Service Canada added five new locations for passport services at the end of July: Brampton and Whitby in Ontario, Pointe-Claire in Quebec, Calgary Sundance in Alberta and Richmond in British Columbia.

The agency has also increased its workforce, reporting 1,936 employees in its passport workforce in early August, up from 1,785 a month earlier.

Gould said she is working to bring passport services to nine or 10 additional offices and hopes to make more announcements soon.


This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 17, 2022.