Is it time for Prince George to have its own passport office?
That’s a no-brainer for Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach, who raised the issue of the need for a passport processing centre in northern B.C. at the meeting of the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako Oct. 13 in Burns Lake.
The backlog of applications this past summer resulted in blocks-long lineups at the Vancouver office. That was enough to convince Bachrach the time is now for people living in the northern half of the province to have full access to passport services.
“People have to drive all the way to Vancouver in order to access to urgent processing for passports and this has been a real problem with the federal government,” Bachrach said at the meeting.
“I don’t think they anticipated the resurgence in travel demand and the understaffed passport offices have really been overwhelmed with requests for passport renewals. The federal government has been opening passport offices across Canada, just not in our region.”
The government opened passport offices this year, in Trois Rivieres, Que., Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Red Deer, Alta. Bachrach is hopeful that Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, will extend that courtesy to northern B.C.
“I think opening an office in Prince George would cut down the travel time for people who need to urgently get their passport completed, and I’ve written to the minister and asked her to consider that strongly,” Bachrach said.
Kelowna is the closest B.C. city to offer passport services. The province’s other passport offices are in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Victoria. People who require urgent or express pick-up service must go to the Vancouver office at the Sinclair Centre 100-757 West Hastings St.
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.
