Newmarket-Aurora residents are still experiencing some struggles and wait times to get their passports to get back to travelling.
MP Tony Van Bynen’s constituency office indicated it has handled 100 requests for help in the past several weeks, including more than 20 in the past two weeks alone. The federal government still reports wait times of 27 minutes for its passport call centre, with more than 340,000 applications received since April that have not yet had passports issued.
“The service levels are unacceptable because Canadians do deserve efficiency and clarity when they’re making important commitments,” Van Bynen said, adding that passport and immigration files at the office have been very active. “This has been a real challenge.”
Passport backlogs have been an issue for months, with Service Canada struggling to process them quickly. Constituency offices throughout the country have been taking requests from those trying to get their passports fast enough to make their travel plans.
Consistency offices have not always been able to manage it; Van Bynen said three requests to their office were not processed in time earlier on when the passport issues first arose. But he said the government had done more work since then to improve the processes, with priority queues for those travelling sooner.
“There’s also longer-term planning around streamlining the processes and things like exploring digital solutions,” Van Bynen said, adding that could include application tracking. “That’s probably the majority of the calls that we’ve been getting.”
Service Canada is offering applications based on how soon you will travel. Urgent service is available with extra fees if travelling in two or fewer business days, as well as a two-week option for those travelling in three to 45 business days, though the proof is required to show the need. For all other travellers, processing time can still take 13 weeks, plus mail time.
Newmarket residents have reported that although getting an application to the area Service Canada office has improved, the wait for a passport can still be a challenge.
“It is really insane,” one resident wrote on Facebook. “I did have a travel date in the forms, but it was just domestic, so I didn’t really care. But that day has come and gone and still waiting.”
Constituency offices do offer another avenue for some. Constituency case worker Michelle Mean-mith said they help by gathering information from a resident, including ensuring they have proof of travel within 20 business days.
“From there, we have a specialized line for an MP's office to inquire, and depending on what the status of the passport is, we’re able to request a transfer on behalf of the constituent, or we’re also able to let them know if a passport is being mailed out,” she said.
The government is hiring more workers, Van Bynen said, as well as expanding the number of Service Canada offices that can handle urgent passport applications. The government keeps public statistics on workers added to the workforce, plus overtime hours that show passport workers are accumulating more than 6,000 overtime hours weekly.
But Van Bynen said the passport delays remain an issue they are trying to solve as quickly as possible.
“We owe it to the residents of Newmarket-Aurora, to all Canadians, to make sure they get the service levels they are entitled to expect.”
