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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 83

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 7, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22
Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)
  • Jun/7/22 2:28:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are furious about passport wait times. Even in the midst of a crisis, none of the passport offices are open on the weekend, even for people who are leaving within 48 hours. The Liberals are forcing people who have been waiting for three months to miss a day of work in order to make an urgent application. Worse, they are charging $50 to $110 in extra fees. That is crazy. They are making citizens pay the price for their incompetence. Will they open offices on the weekend and process urgent applications at no extra cost?
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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Jun/7/22 2:29:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House before, we are seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of passport applications. Nevertheless, people should not have to pay to have their application processed more quickly if it occurs outside normal service hours. Also, a dozen offices are open almost every Saturday to ensure that we can respond to urgent requests.
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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22
Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)
  • Jun/7/22 2:30:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government says it is doing everything in its power, but only between the hours of eight and four and at people's expense. That is outrageous. They have to open passport offices on the weekend for people who need to travel within 48 hours. They have to stop charging extra fees for people who submitted their application and are still waiting 20 business days later. When will they actually do everything in their power to fix their mistakes and deliver passports on time without fees? Enough is enough.
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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Jun/7/22 2:30:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, those fees should not apply if the passport is not delivered within the normal 20-day period. I will raise the matter with Service Canada again. I know Service Canada employees are working extremely hard, including evenings and weekends, to serve Canadians. They are there, and we will do everything in our power to make sure Canadians receive their passports before travelling.
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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22
Ms. Kristina Michaud
  • Jun/7/22 6:11:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question, and I thank my colleague for asking it. I am perhaps one of those people who believe that citizens pay taxes for a reason, and that they pay them to the federal government in exchange for services. I would like to remind members just how long it currently takes to get a passport. If an individual is a victim of EI fraud and their file is blocked, it takes a long time to get services and the money they are owed. It takes a long time for the federal government to transfer the money it owes to the provinces and to Quebec, especially for health care. Instead of eliminating or suspending a tax, because I believe they have a purpose, I would perhaps propose an exchange whereby the federal government would provide the service that Quebeckers and the people who pay this tax are entitled to. I believe that the government could be more proactive in the way it provides these services.
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