Even if the queue had melted in front of the Guy-Favreau Complex passport office on Friday, the exasperation was still present among the citizens who still hoped to be able to go on a trip in the coming days.
Jonathan and Suzanne planned to fly to Europe on Monday with their two daughters. Unable to obtain the renewal of their daughter’s passport, they wondered Friday about the strategy to adopt. Give up the trip or try until the last minute to obtain the precious document?
“We have a big decision to make in the next few days,” commented Jonathan, who had gone to the Guy-Favreau Complex office to understand how the system worked. “We are a little resigned,” said his wife, although they are not yet ready to throw in the towel.
Exceptionally, officials were on duty on Friday, June 24, a public holiday, and will be on duty all weekend in order to urgently process passport applications. However, the offices will not be open to the general public and only people with an appointment will be able to access them.
Faced with the chaotic situation of the past few days, the federal government has announced the implementation of an appointment system, prioritizing imminent departures.
Bruno El-Khoury failed to get an appointment and the only ones available online were set for mid-August. He had to cancel his trip to Paris scheduled for June 22 because he had not obtained his passport. Passing through the passport office at the Complexe Guy-Favreau on Friday, he continued to hope to be able to fly no later than Sunday to participate in training in Paris on Monday. He even considered going to another province to obtain his passport, but finally gave up, judging that success was not guaranteed.
“Minister Gould has apologized. But it is not by apologizing that she will resolve the situation, ”said the management expert who deplored the confusion in the communications made to citizens. “When there is such a crisis, everyone must have the same message. »
Decline in requests expected in mid-August
Another traveler, in tears, was desperate to get her child’s passport in time for her family’s trip to Tunisia scheduled for Monday. Canceling the trip would force her to have to buy plane tickets at a much higher price. ” It’s stressful. So much that I am not able to pack my bags,” she said. “But I will come back tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and Monday if necessary. »
On Thursday, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, described the situation in Montreal as “totally unacceptable”. She then announced that some passports would be printed in Gatineau, where the processing capacity is greater, before being sent to Montreal. She also pointed out that 85% of the applications filed were for new passports, especially for children, which requires more checks.
On Friday, his office said that 500 appointments had been made during the long weekend in the three offices in the Montreal region.
According to Yvon Barrière, executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada in Quebec (PSAC-Quebec), the crisis, which he attributes to poor planning, could take time to resolve. “There should be a drop in requests in mid-August,” he believes.
He relates that during the pandemic, with travel being prohibited, requests for passports had decreased. Employees of the Passport Service who have retired or who have been mobilized to other services have not been replaced, which means that at present there is a shortage of approximately 30% of employees, he said. According to him, Ottawa should have anticipated the resumption of travel and the wave of passport applications. “For the past few weeks, it’s really been improvisation. »
In an interview with Radio-Canada on Thursday, Minister Gould clarified that the government would not be able to compensate travelers for the cancellation of trips and the losses incurred.