In complete contradiction to the instructions given to travelers and the rules displayed in a passport office, anyone with a trip planned in the next nine weeks can now go in person to have their travel document renewed, assures the minister .
“People can introduce themselves [au bureau des passeports] 45 days before travelling,” Family, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould told the House on Monday.
She was responding to a question from Bloc Québécois elected Louise Chabot, who asked her to clarify the rules for obtaining a passport during the administrative chaos caused by the resumption of travel after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. .
“Between the official message and what happens in the passport offices, there is a whole universe. We know that contrary to what is written on the website, only people who travel within 48 hours are served,” chanted the MNA for Thérèse-De Blainville.
The duty revealed that passport offices are refusing to serve anyone who does not have proof of imminent travel within the next 24 to 48 hours. This instruction, absent from the government website, was notably written on a sheet affixed by hand to the entrance door of the Saint-Laurent passport center.
Other passport offices, such as Complexe Guy-Favreau in Montreal, falsely claimed that it was possible to make an appointment if the trip was planned within the next 3 to 45 days. In Quebec, the instructions changed during the day. Several people testified to To have to having felt great anxiety at not knowing if their passports would be ready in time for their departure.
Minister Gould maintained on Monday that the instructions on the government’s website were correct, and that it is up to its officials to offer those who come in person the 45-day passport application processing service. working days of departure or less.
“I am seeing with Service Canada how they are doing [cette directive] in the field. We will reassure Canadians, we will ensure that the correct information is on the website,” she said.
On June 3, Service Canada extended the processing time for routine passport renewal applications from 26 to 46 days. During the first months of the pandemic, the federal government advised waiting until you had a travel plan before applying for the renewal of your passport.
Minister Gould also said Monday that in addition to the 600 additional workers hired in 2022 to process passport applications, the government is hiring another 600 to cope with the unprecedented influx of applications. Its officials work overtime evenings and weekends, she adds.