Despite pressure from opposition members in Parliament to try to convince the federal government of the need to bring passport application processing to Prince George, the northern half of British Columbia remains without that service.
Starting in July, the federal government began adding 10-day service for passports that is now available at 13 Service Canada offices, including three in Alberta - Fort McMurray, Lethbridge and Red Deer; four in Ontario - Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Kingston and Barrie; two in Quebec - Rimouski and Trois-Rivères, as well as Moncton, N.B., Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Whitehorse, Yukon.
Canadians who visit those Service Canada offices now have the option to apply for their passports at any one of those locations and the passport will be available in 10 business days, either through mail or in-person pick-up.
In an Oct. 11 news release to announce the addition of passport services at the Barrie location, Employment and Social Development Canada stated: “The expansion of pick-up sites aids in our objective of providing passport services within 50 kilometres of Canadians’ homes. This new site will allow many Canadians who need to pick up passports to do so closer to their homes.”
Currently, the Service Canada office in Kelowna, 679 kilometres away, is the closest city to Prince George to offer passport services. The other B.C. offices are in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Victoria.
Taylor Bachrach, the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, raised the issue at a Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako meeting last month and has written to Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould to express his concerns.
Prince George-Cariboo Conservative MP Todd Doherty has had numerous meetings with Gould, Maninder Sidhu, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and government officials to explain why Prince George, with its remote location and the role it plays as the service hub for northern B.C. residents, still lacks passport processing services.
“This is deeply disappointing,” said Doherty. “We have worked across the aisle to educate the current minister and their officials why Prince George should have a passport office. My discussions with the minister will continue. I’m still hoping that we can get something done.”
A ministry spokesperson told the Citizen on Tuesday that Prince George is being considered as one of the cities that will soon have 10-day passport service. He said there’s no guarantee it will happen but it is on the list of potential future sites that will added in the next batch in the coming weeks. The source said passport printing will eventually come to some, but not all of those new 10-day locations, as Immigration Canada upgrades its system and determines where those upgrades are needed.
Under most circumstances, northern British Columbians applying at their local Service Canada office can expect to receive a passport in 20 business days, not including the time it takes to receive it by mail.
Clients in northern British Columbia who have already applied for their passport and have not received them close to their travel date are advised to visit their nearest Service Canada Centre or call the passport call centre at 1-800-567-6868 to discuss their best option. Service Canada representatives can initiate a transfer request to speed up the process.
Bottlenecks in the passport processing system for Canadians were exposed this summer. After nearly two years of pandemic-related travel barriers the lifting of those restrictions early this year led to a boom in international travel. Long lines of people waiting for passport processing in cities such as Vancouver resulted in triage measures being adopted starting June 20th at 17 passport offices across the country.
Since April 1st, 1.2 million Canadians have been issued passports. The government has increased its workforce to 2,200 people now supporting passport processing. It has also expanded operating hours of service for passports and provides scheduled outreach visits to communities that lack a Service Canada centre.
Expanded service was added July 25th at passport offices in Brampton, Ont., Whitby, Ont., Pointe-Claire, Que., Calgary and Richmond.
People who require urgent or express pick-up service (less than 10 days) must go to the downtown Vancouver office. Urgent pick-up applicants are required to pay an additional $110 fee and show proof of travel. Express pick-up applicants have to pay an extra $50 for pick up within two to nine business days.
