Adding hundreds of workers across Canada to tackle a backlog of passport applications has done little to fix the issue in London, where long lines are common outside the city’s lone processing centre.
The bottleneck is due to a sharp jump in passport applications nationwide after the relaxation of COVID-19 travel requirements that kept many Canadians home over the last two years.
In London, the backlog has seen long lines outside the passport office at London’s Cherryhill Village Mall, where passport-seekers have been camping out as early as 5 am
“I don’t think this should be happening, especially for as long as it has been,” Shannon Weir, who’s traveling at the end of June, said this week. “This has been going on for months.”
Weir said she got to the passport center about 7:30 am Tuesday and was told she probably wouldn’t be seen until about 2 pm
Ahead of Weir were two women sitting on camping chairs, who asked not to be named, but said they got there at 6 am to find more than 20 people already in line.
“I came here about a month ago, I walked in at 8:30 am, and the line was longer and more ridiculous,” Weir said.
Another woman in line, identifying herself only as Nikki, said she first tried to apply for a passport a few months back, but was told by an agent to wait until her trip was within 25 days, then apply in person instead of mailing an application , which could take months.
“Everybody has a stressful life, so just adding something on top of it and then not being sure if you’ll be able to even go, it’s pretty stressful,” she said.
Nikki, who got to the passport service center about 9 am Tuesday, said staff said her chances of being seen that day were slim and she’d be better off coming back the next day at 5 am “He told us it’s only a 10 per one hundred chances to get in from here.”
Seeking help via the Service Canada phone line has been just as stressful, said Nikki, who called eight times on one day but couldn’t reach an agent.
She’s considering canceling a planned month-end trip to the US, but hopes she’ll be able to get a passport for a long-booked family trip to Europe in July.
Service Canada, which processes the Canadian travel document, said it has taken steps to help address the issue, including reopening its processing centres, closed during COVID-19, for in-person service.
But demand for passports has just been too heavy to handle.
The agency processed about 363,000 passports between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, a spokesperson said. But that jumped to 1.2 million passports issued in the 12 months that followed, and another 317,000 between April 1 and last week.
Service Canada expects to receive between 3.6 million and 4.3 million passport applications in 2022-23.
That’s why it moved to hire 600 new staff to help deal with the backlog, and expects to redeploy another 600 to help.
But it’s not clear how many new employees, if any, have been reassigned to London, where passport-seekers reported seeing as few as four agents handling in-person applications.
London North Center Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos, whose office has fielded calls from Londoners seeking help with their documents, said he understands people’s frustration, but added “the government is doing its very best” to meet unprecedented demand for passports.
“The hope now is that with 600 additional new employees being recently hired, plus the 600 existing employees. . . that will be reallocated, that London will see a benefit,” he said.
“I know that the frustration exists, people have been in line and seen only a few Service Canada employees present, but that is being worked on. And my hope is that processing will now proceed more quickly.”
Twitter.com/JuhaatLFPress
TIPS FOR PASSPORT SEEKERS
• Ensure you have a valid passport before booking trips
• Only people traveling within three and 45 business days should use the walk-in service at specialized passport offices like the Cherryhill Village Mall location in London; Appointments are recommended and proof of travel is required.
• If your trip is more than 45 days away, drop off your application at any Service Canada office
• People needing a passport within two business days should visit a passport site – Cherryhill is one – offering urgent pickup service and bringing proof of travel
Source: Service Canada