44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2022 10:00AM
- May/6/22 11:21:25 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are travelling again, and there has been an unprecedented volume increase in the demand for passports for those who wish to travel. It has resulted in long lineups and wait times for in-person service. We do understand that this situation is difficult and stressful for many.
The minister has been travelling across the country visiting Service Canada locations to hear directly from frontline staff who have been working days, nights and weekends to alleviate the long lines and the wait times. We have hired 500 new employees, and the minister and the department will continue to turn every rock to find solutions to serve Canadians with the service they are entitled to.
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- May/6/22 11:22:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let us be honest. This whole mess and the inability to provide even the most basic government service like a passport renewal are entirely on the minister and the Liberals, not the public service. Everyone knew people would want to travel coming out of COVID. Everyone knew that the 10-year passports were expiring. Everyone knew, it seems, except the government, and here we are with long lineups around government buildings and phones not being answered.
Maybe it is time to get people back to their workplaces and rehire those who have been fired because of vaccine mandates to fix this. Would the minister not agree with me on that?
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- May/6/22 11:22:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have been preparing for this for some time. As early as December, we hired 500 new employees to process passports. We opened three new processing centres around the country, and over the weekends we opened as many locations as possible to serve Canadians. In addition to that, over 300 Service Canada centres are processing passport applications for Canadians.
We continue to do more to alleviate this unprecedented level of demand for service.
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- May/6/22 11:23:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, now that the pandemic is coming to an end, people are starting to travel again, which is good news. They need to renew their passports, but unfortunately, the wait times are atrocious.
People need an appointment to visit some Service Canada locations, but first they have to wait on the phone for hours just to get an appointment. That is completely unacceptable.
The problem is that the government has still not authorized Service Canada employees to fully return to work. What is the government waiting for?
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- May/6/22 11:51:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her advocacy for constituents.
We do know this is a frustrating time for many Canadians as they try to use the system. We have simplified the process to replace expired passports and have extended it to those that expired 15 years ago, treating them as renewals rather than new applications. We continue to find every avenue possible to address the needs of Canadians as they wish to travel again.
If there is a particular issue that a constituent, such as Gordon, is facing, I would be more than happy to speak to the member about it to see how we can find—
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- May/6/22 11:52:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member sharing the frustrations that many Canadians are facing as they try to embark on travel again to see loved ones throughout the country.
With the easing of public health restrictions and Canadians resuming their travels, Service Canada is experiencing unprecedented volumes in the demand for passports. Our current priority is to ensure that Canadians with planned travel are able to travel. To avoid long lines, Canadians with no imminent travel can apply by visiting over 300 Service Canada centres—
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- May/6/22 11:53:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are lining up for days attempting to renew their passports so they can reunite with their families after two long years.
A constituent in my riding is feeling desperate. She is trying to visit a dying family member in the United States and is getting nowhere. Time is of the essence. If we fail to plan, we are planning to fail.
Will the government have compassion and fix the passport backlog so that Canadians can have the ability to say goodbye?
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