(Ottawa) The government is trying to convince some 200 temporary employees of the Canada Revenue Agency to help it deal with the passport crisis. The request has been sent, but it is not known how many will respond to the call.
Posted at 2:31 p.m.
Updated at 4:55 p.m.
These 200 people would work in Service Canada offices and passport processing centers across the country, said a source in the office of Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould.
These Canada Revenue Agency employees find themselves out of work after tax time and the government hopes they will agree to work for Service Canada. They would be added to the 600 employees already hired by the government to process the numerous passport applications and the 600 others who must be recruited.
“We are in the process of reallocating resources from Passport Canada,” Minister Gould said before Question Period. Also, we are working with the Revenue Agency, with Immigration, with Global Affairs to seek even more resources from the federal government precisely to help with the passport process. »
She is preparing to announce new measures to resolve the crisis later this week.
In Quebec, the failures of the federal government made the Minister of Canadian Relations, Sonia LeBel, react. “It’s insane to see people camping to get a passport,” she wrote on Twitter. We invite the federal government to quickly find a solution in order to process requests more adequately. »
Even if traffic jams are observed in front of Service Canada offices in other provinces, it is in Quebec that the situation seems most critical, we note in the office of Minister Gould. Many departures on trips are planned as the end of classes and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste holiday approach. Others have applied for passports in anticipation of the construction holiday at the end of July.
“I have to tell you that we really have to do better,” admitted the Minister of National Revenue, Diane Lebouthillier, before the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
Photo Justin Tang, archives The Canadian Press
“I have to tell you that we really have to do better,” reacted the Minister of National Revenue, Diane Lebouthillier before the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
The government was once again hounded by the Conservatives and the Bloc during question period. “How can the Prime Minister be so bad at delivering his government’s services?” asked Deputy Conservative Party Leader Luc Berthold.
“We know this situation is difficult, stressful and downright unacceptable,” replied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “It’s a problem, we recognize it and we will solve it. »
Minister Gould’s office says the government had been preparing for an increase in passport applications with the lifting of health restrictions, but the volume was higher than expected.