Ottawa was still not able to specify on Thursday what it cost to redo the passport designs, but assures that it is far from being $284 million as indicated in a document tabled in Parliament this week.
“This information does not reflect the budget. […] In the future, we will ensure that we answer these types of questions in much more detail and in a way that avoids any further misunderstandings,” the office of the new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Refugees told The Canadian Press on Thursday. of Citizenship, Marc Miller.
The figure of 284 billion was provided to Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner in response to a question she had placed on the order paper. The document was signed by Mr. Miller.
In her written question, the elected Alberta representative sought to know “who are the artists and companies used for the design and images of the new passport, and how much each was paid for their work”.
On this specific aspect, the government responded that a $284 million contract was awarded to the Canadian Bank Note Company “to provide this solution.”
161 million budgeted
However, this sum corresponds to the “cost of operations over 14 years linked to the entire passport program, including maintenance, repairs and software upgrades”, indicated a spokesperson for Minister Miller, Bahoz Dara Aziz, in a written statement.
The amount is not entirely attributable to the passport modernization project, and relates to normal expenses that would have been incurred whether or not there was a new passport.
In fact, Ottawa states that it has budgeted $161 million for the new passport project. This includes, it is said, the visual overhaul, the development and deployment of more efficient printers to incorporate state-of-the-art security features, the infrastructure necessary for the production of the passport, salaries, the rearrangement of premises and new software.
To date, $78.9 million has been spent on the project. “The budget is largely respected,” insisted Ms. Dara Aziz.
Asked how much the visual design of the passport cost as initially requested by the MP, Ms. Dara Aziz explained that the ministry is working to determine the exact amount.
The government unveiled the new passport in May. This includes improved safety features. Passport holders’ personal information will now be laser engraved instead of printed in ink, making the document “more durable and harder to forge and counterfeit.”
Critics, including conservatives, accuse the government of having stripped the passport of certain historical symbols. These images have been replaced by natural landscapes and elements of the country’s wildlife.