Passport Canada

normanchateau · May 7, 2007

I still don't understand why people let their passports expire or even why they don't have one, you never know when you'll need it.

Yes wouldn't it be nice if all people were perfect? Unfortunately it would be impractical for governments to make planning decisions based on that assumption.

Michael Bluth · May 7, 2007

Right, that's a good idea. There are a lof of Sri Lankans in Toronto more than willing to work a cheap job for a private sector company creating Canadian passports. Heck, they even already have experience.

Bah. :lol:

My wife and son just received their passports. It took less than 6 weeks to get them. Not too bad all things considering. The wait in line was approx. 2 hours.
People can pay extra to have their passport applications hurried up. I paid extra to get a 48 hour turn around on mine before.

You can't expect people to pay more for better quality and faster service. That would be un-Canadian. :lol:

cowtown · May 7, 2007

My wife and son just received their passports. It took less than 6 weeks to get them. Not too bad all things considering. The wait in line was approx. 2 hours.

Not in Vancouver.

Come over to the Calgary South office and apply.

normanchateau · May 8, 2007

My wife and son just received their passports. It took less than 6 weeks to get them. Not too bad all things considering. The wait in line was approx. 2 hours.

Not in Vancouver.

Come over to the Calgary South office and apply.

I have a passport but thanks for the suggestion. I'll pass it on.

noahbody · May 8, 2007

But she did have to wait in line. Even though the commissionaires became aware of her at 8:15 am, she didn't get out until 10:45 am.

A couple of hours seems reasonable to me. No reason to scream bloody murder. I do have to ask, if you're going to try to hang the Conservative government on this one, how do you feel about the health care wait times caused by the Liberal government? And will you be voting Liberal any time soon?

sharkman · May 8, 2007

Good point, funny how waiting times for serious operations don't seem to rate up there with gettting a damn passport! But some people's reasoning skills go askew when they think about conservative leaders. Ah well, at least they're good for a chuckle.

Charles Anthony · May 8, 2007

We should consider the possibility that it would be mutually advantageous for Canadians and Americans to harmonize how we deal with migration.

Well then, let me as a civil servant express my utter contempt for taxpayers, that mass of ignorant, bawling sheep who want everything on a platter but don't want to pay for it.
We need public service cuts.
Because that'll speed up passport processing, right?

No, it will make room for people who respect the taxpayer.

The USA would not agree to share a visa because we have too many foreigners in Canada. That is the entire reason for their new rule.

Too many foreigners in Canada???? What is that supposed to mean??? Your true colors are coming out.

Argus · May 8, 2007

Well then, let me as a civil servant express my utter contempt for taxpayers, that mass of ignorant, bawling sheep who want everything on a platter but don't want to pay for it.
We need public service cuts.
Because that'll speed up passport processing, right?
No, it will make room for people who respect the taxpayer.

Uh, yeah. We'll put that on the test for public servants. "Do you respect the idiot taxpayers?"

The USA would not agree to share a visa because we have too many foreigners in Canada. That is the entire reason for their new rule.
Too many foreigners in Canada???? What is that supposed to mean??? Your true colors are coming out.

Why do you think the US has decided to impliment border controls with Canada? If Canada had not accepted anyone and everyone, and didn't have millions of foreigners living among us, many from from Islamic nations and other places hostile to the US, there would be no need.

sharkman · May 8, 2007

I agree with the benefits of harmonizing immigration, but I too see the numbers of undesirable immigrants (ones in Canada with criminal records who if their appeal process looks discouraging merely flee into hiding) as a problem that precludes any agreements with the U.S.

We let in people who claim they have no passport who are only hiding their identity. We have a very lenient appeal process that can drag on for up to a decade. We hesitate to hand over criminals to the U.S. for fear they might be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. All of these reasons make it unliikely the U.S. would be interested.

Charles Anthony · May 8, 2007

We have a very lenient appeal process that can drag on for up to a decade. We hesitate to hand over criminals to the U.S. for fear they might be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. All of these reasons make it unliikely the U.S. would be interested.

Everybody has to compromise and bend a bit.

Incidentally, I believe people in North America should focus their efforts on local crime prevention instead of trying to investigate the backgrounds of every single potential migrant.

Let us look at the following hypothetical situation: if on a local level, Canadians fought crime substantially better than did Americans, Canadians might have an upper-hand when it comes to harmonizing migration policy within North America.

Why do you think the US has decided to impliment border controls with Canada? If Canada had not accepted anyone and everyone, and didn't have millions of foreigners living among us, many from from Islamic nations and other places hostile to the US, there would be no need.

Despite some of the true colors (Initially, you just lashed out at foreigners) still shining through, you are now open to a wider debate: how Canada deals with people crossing its border. That is a different and more important issue.

There are tons of foreigners in both the U.S.A. and in Canada. Some people do not like it and that is too bad for them.

guyser · May 8, 2007

Too many foreigners in Canada???? What is that supposed to mean??? Your true colors are coming out.

We have too many Charles......oh wait a minute, perhaps the 12 to 20 million illegals in the USA do not count.

Argus · May 8, 2007

We have a very lenient appeal process that can drag on for up to a decade. We hesitate to hand over criminals to the U.S. for fear they might be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. All of these reasons make it unliikely the U.S. would be interested.
Everybody has to compromise and bend a bit.
Incidentally, I believe people in North America should focus their efforts on local crime prevention instead of trying to investigate the backgrounds of every single potential migrant.

The cost benefits of keeping out undesirable foreigners are far, far higher. Keeping out a foreigner who is a criminal, or whose skill base and education are so low we know they will be a cotinuing drain on the economy, is far more profitable to the country than locking up a mugger. We should devote substantially more effort to screening would-be immigrants, and turn back a far higher percentage than is presently the case. We don't need nearly as many immigrants as we're getting.

Let us look at the following hypothetical situation: if on a local level, Canadians fought crime substantially better than did Americans, Canadians might have an upper-hand when it comes to harmonizing migration policy within North America.

Nonsense. The Americans aren't worried about criminals, they're worried about terrorists, such as that group they just arrested in New Jersey planning to attack an American military base. We have plenty of such people in Canada.

Why do you think the US has decided to impliment border controls with Canada? If Canada had not accepted anyone and everyone, and didn't have millions of foreigners living among us, many from from Islamic nations and other places hostile to the US, there would be no need.
Despite some of the true colors (Initially, you just lashed out at foreigners) still shining through, you are now open to a wider debate: how Canada deals with people crossing its border. That is a different and more important issue.

No, it is exactly the same issue.

There are tons of foreigners in both the U.S.A. and in Canada. Some people do not like it and that is too bad for them.

Yes, we're the people with standards, the people who pay taxes. It is indeed too bad for us that we let so much scum into Canada.

normanchateau · May 10, 2007

And will you be voting Liberal any time soon?

I'll be voting for the candidate who stands the best chance of defeating the Conservative in my riding. As long as Harper remains leader of the party, no CPC candidate would ever get my vote.

normanchateau · May 11, 2007

The Vancouver Sun endorsed the Conservatives in the last federal election. The following editorial appeared in today's Vancouver Sun:

Politicians dive for cover rather than discuss passport mess

Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, May 11, 2007

"Apparently, it's not just Passport Canada bureaucrats who fiddle while the agency crashes and burns. Cabinet members also seem to have no interest in serving the public.

The Vancouver Sun newsroom has tried in vain to reach both senior bureaucrats and politicians, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, to discuss the issue, only to be given the runaround time and again.

The Sun editorial board decided to try its luck, but didn't fare any better than the newsroom. We began with Day, who, in addition to being a cabinet minister, is the member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla. You'd think he'd be interested in talking to British Columbians through the province's largest newspaper.

Through rain and sunshine, darkness and light, applicants take their place in line outside the Sinclair Centre passport office in Vancouver.

Evidently not. Day's office informed us that the minister is just too busy to come to The Sun offices. We offered to confer with him by phone, any time in May. That was a no-go as well, because Day's calendar is apparently booked so solid that he can't even take a phone call for at least a month.

Having failed with Day, we contacted MacKay's office and asked for a meeting, but were told that the request would have to be in writing. Although many ministers in previous governments never required written requests, we complied with the instructions, and eventually heard from someone in MacKay's constituency office in Nova Scotia.

The representative informed us that he had been told to call us, but that he didn't know anything about the particulars of our request. So we explained we'd like to talk to MacKay about Passport Canada, among other things. The rep then said he'd have to contact someone in Ottawa, who would get back to us.

Next it was MacKay's press secretary Andre Lemay's turn to phone. His message: The minister is "completely booked," but might have some time to talk to Sun editorial writers in mid-June.

Just as we've had no luck contacting Passport Canada CEO Gerald Cossette or Hal Hickey, the agency's director for the western region, it looks like we're not going to hear from cabinet ministers while the Passport Canada crisis continues either.

This refusal to accept responsibility for the mess is even more galling given that the mess never had to happen.

More than a year ago, Day mused that maybe Canada should consider issuing passports valid for 10 years, as is done in the United States, Britain and many other countries, rather than five. But no action was ever taken, which led to the current situation.

Even with the five-year passports, the government had plenty of advance warning about implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires Canadians traveling by air to the U.S. to present a valid passport. In fact, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser warned the government last year that it wasn't prepared for a surge in passport applications. Naturally, little was done.

Thanks solely to the inaction and negligence of cabinet members and bureaucrats, Passport Canada is overwhelmed. Yet those very politicians and bureaucrats are unwilling to talk to Canadians about the situation and what they plan to do about it, if anything. Remember that the next time you go to the polls and politicians tell you what a great job they're doing."

noahbody · May 11, 2007

Politicians dive for cover rather than discuss passport mess
Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, May 11, 2007

"Apparently, it's not just Passport Canada bureaucrats who fiddle while the agency crashes and burns. Cabinet members also seem to have no interest in serving the public.

The Vancouver Sun newsroom has tried in vain to reach both senior bureaucrats and politicians, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, to discuss the issue, only to be given the runaround time and again.

Looks like they got their story they wanted. Let's slam the government for no reason.

Here's the situation today: It's been over 3 months since the deadline and the line ups became long and well publicized. It takes 3 months to get your passport by mail. Every single person in the line today has no one to blame about standing in line except for themselves. Do you agree?

normanchateau · May 11, 2007

Politicians dive for cover rather than discuss passport mess
Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, May 11, 2007

"Apparently, it's not just Passport Canada bureaucrats who fiddle while the agency crashes and burns. Cabinet members also seem to have no interest in serving the public.

The Vancouver Sun newsroom has tried in vain to reach both senior bureaucrats and politicians, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, to discuss the issue, only to be given the runaround time and again.

Here's the situation today: It's been over 3 months since the deadline and the line ups became long and well publicized. It takes 3 months to get your passport by mail. Every single person in the line today has no one to blame about standing in line except for themselves. Do you agree?

The point of the editorial was that no cabinet minister was taking responsibility or even responding or even pretending to care. Apparently you agree that no one is responsible other than those standing in line.

What if a person only discovered today that they needed a passport because of a death of a relative outside of Canada, or a job interview, or whatever?

noahbody · May 11, 2007

The point of the editorial was that no cabinet minister was taking responsibility or even responding or even pretending to care. Apparently you agree that no one is responsible other than those standing in line.

What if a person only discovered today that they needed a passport because of a death of a relative outside of Canada, or a job interview, or whatever?

Firstly, it was just on May 11th when they ran a story with a quote from Fabien Langelle, a media relations officer with Passport Canada. This is with whom they should be talking. It's a little silly to expect the PM or senior ministers can respond to every reporter, especially on non-issues. Ask in a media scrum or ask the department set up to comment on such issues.

The people you mentioned are all ill-prepared and can stand in line and get a passport in 48 hours should they wish. I'd expect most in line understand they are their because they didn't think ahead. Nobody to blame but themselves though.

noahbody · May 11, 2007

And will you be voting Liberal any time soon?

I'll be voting for the candidate who stands the best chance of defeating the Conservative in my riding. As long as Harper remains leader of the party, no CPC candidate would ever get my vote.

What is it specifically that you dislike about Harper so much? Do you see reason to be scared of him as promoted? If yes, explain why.

normanchateau · May 11, 2007

What if a person only discovered today that they needed a passport because of the death of a relative outside of Canada, or a job interview, or whatever?

Wilber · May 11, 2007

Our waits are probably not out of line with most countries, but.

A huge problem with our system is having to turn in your old passport when you apply for a new one even if it is still valid. Unless you are prepared to pay a bunch more for expedited service, you will have to go for 3 months or more with no passport. What's the big deal? I once asked them and they said it was a security thing. I replied that if I took a perfectly valid passport to one of their offices and and exchanged it for a new one when it was ready, if there was a security problem it must be in their office. I didn't get a reply to that note. That was when the Libs were in power but I don't think their attitude has changed one iota since.

noahbody · May 11, 2007

Our waits are probably not out of line with most countries, but.
A huge problem with our system is having to turn in your old passport when you apply for a new one even if it is still valid. Unless you are prepared to pay a bunch more for expedited service, you will have to go for 3 months or more with no passport. What's the big deal? I once asked them and they said it was a security thing. I replied that if I took a perfectly valid passport to one of their offices and and exchanged it for a new one when it was ready, if there was a security problem it must be in their office. I didn't get a reply to that note. That was when the Libs were in power but I don't think their attitude has changed one iota since.

I agree, that is a pain. They do that with driver's licenses as well. With the new rules you should have the option to keep your old one and exhange it for the new one delivered to the passport office.

sharkman · May 11, 2007

This thread is just another 'blame the party presently in power if it's the CPC thread.

normanchateau · May 11, 2007

This thread is just another 'blame the party presently in power if it's the CPC thread.

And of course no one on this board ever blamed the Liberals when they were in power.

scribblet · May 12, 2007

This thread is just another 'blame the party presently in power if it's the CPC thread.

And then some LOL

I was reading the Star this afternoon in the dentist's office and read that there was a distinct possibility that the U.S. was softening its stand and passports would not be required at the border. The new driver's licence would be used. I missed the news tonight.

scribblet · May 12, 2007

Found it here, so maybe there will be a deal soon: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/212852

There are strong signals that Washington is finally reconsidering its hard-line stance on requiring passports at border crossings.

In the wake of a congressional vote yesterday and recent comments by the U.S. ambassador to Canada, provincial Tourism Minister Jim Bradley says there is significant progress in the quest to ease tough new land-border requirements.

I wasn't aware that there had been talks about extending the life of the passport, but the border services are nixing it. What about a compromise to say 7 years.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/200...173876-sun.html

The Canada Border Services Agency is urging the federal government to reject pleas to extend the lifespan of a Canadian passport.

An undated briefing document to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day obtained by Sun Media under Access to Information warns that pushing the current five-year limit to 10 could compromise security of the documents.

CBSA President Alain Jolicoeur said he "strongly supports" maintaining the status quo.