(Ottawa) A Quebecer finds himself without a passport a few weeks before a trip to the United States because of the strike by federal civil servants. Benoit Giguère filed his request on Monday, two days before the start of the walkout. Today, he fears having to cancel everything.
“In a way, they took my passport hostage,” he laments in an interview.
His document was due to expire in July, but the United States requires a more recent passport to be able to enter its territory. He had asked for the express service for fear of not being able to get it in time if the strike was called, but he was refused since his departure is only scheduled for May 18. His new passport was to be delivered to him on 1er May, but he does not know if he will now be able to obtain it.
Employment and Social Development Minister Karina Gould said Wednesday that “the majority of Canadians” will not be able to apply for or renew a passport because issuing them is not considered an essential service under the law, except “in emergency or humanitarian situations”.
She put the number of requests that would accumulate for each week of interruption at 85,000.
The strike raises the specter of a new passport crisis a few months before the summer holidays.