Senator Gold: When I said I wasn’t sure of all the facts, I wasn’t referring to the statistics so much as all the circumstances surrounding the cause of the delays.

I’m not aware of the proportion of workers who are still working at home nor the many different reasons that may explain that. I’ll certainly look into it and report back. Again, I can assure the chamber that the government is very aware of the unreasonably long delays and the impact that’s having on Canadians and is doing its very best to address the situation.

Senator Plett: I’m a bit disturbed by the fact that you would say you aren’t sure whether the facts are correct. These facts are very correct, and it’s on the record that 75,000 applications are being processed a week now versus 90,000 to 98,000 per week before. Those are statistics that are not disputed by anyone, including your government.

Last week, Blacklocks reported that of the 26,000 Service Canada employees who handled passport applications, over 18,000 are still working from home, or about 70%. Maybe it’s time they stopped playing the groundhog game.

Why is it that your government is overwhelmed and can’t provide Canadians with this basic government service? Is it because the staff processing passports are still mainly working from home, leader?