Canada is not “out of the woods” yet when it comes to providing timely passport procurement for applicants, but is trending in the right direction, says the federal minister responsible. And other high profile travel snags are also making progress, though the government acknowledges that “there is more work to be done.”

The comments were made Monday in an update from the 10-minister special task force created by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on June 25 due to widespread public anger and frustration over the delays around passport processing, immigration services, and at Canadian airports.

Comprised of 10 ministers, the task force was created in response to widespread public anger and frustration over the delays, which has also included significant problems at airports across the country.

The task force has been meeting regularly throughout the summer to identify priority areas for action and outline short- and longer-term solutions to solve, what task force co-chairs Marci Ien and Marc Miller say has been a surge in demand “far bigger than anyone anticipated.”

The ministers noted that the situation is a “global phenomenon” that has caused “unprecedented… delays and problems not only for Canadians, but for citizens of other countries around the world.”

Miller nonetheless said the delays “should never have happened.”

He added a hiring spree by Ottawa has helped, but he made clear that the government does not consider it the long-term answer.

“We’ve addressed this problem throughout the summer by doing pretty much one or two things,” he said. “We’ve thrown bodies at the problem, which is not the most effective way of doing things.”

Passports

As for passports in Canada, the minister responsible, Karina Gould, said, “With this surge in passport requests and significant delays in processing applications, we know that many Canadians have been put in very difficult and stressful situations. We are not out of the woods in terms of passport service delivery, but we are seeing a positive trend. We will continue to implement every possible option to help Canadians get their passport in a timely way… and we are making real progress in reducing the backlog.”

Gould highlighted the measures being taken to improve passport processing, including:

• A significant increase in the Service Canada workforce, with over 2,000 employees now providing passport services to help deal with large increases in demand

• The expansion of simplified renewals of passports to include adults who have had a passport issued in the last 15 years

• A new triage system that has been implemented in metropolitan areas to manage lineups and ensure that Canadians with imminent travel requirements receive their passport in time

• The expansion of passport pick-up service, which is now available in nearly all passport offices and in four Service Canada Centres. In the coming weeks the service will be expanded to nine more Service Canada Centres; and

• The expansion of passport services to 24 scheduled outreach sites in Ontario, Québec, and Atlantic Canada, with more to be announced in the coming weeks, to help meet the passport needs of rural and remote communities.

Figures released earlier this month showed nearly 1.1 million applications for new and renewed passports have been filed since April as pandemic restrictions loosen and Canadians resume travelling. More than one-quarter of those hadn’t yet been processed as of early August.

Yet government statistics also showed the system is starting to catch up with demand, as the gulf narrows between the number of passport applications each month versus the number of passports issued.

Airports

Meanwhile, Minister Omar Alghabra addressed measures the government has taken in collaboration with industry partners designed to reduce traveller wait times and congestion at Canada’s largest airports, including:

• Hiring 1,800 Canadian Air Transport Security (CATSA) screening officers across airports since April

• Participating in over 20 meetings with the senior leadership of airports and airlines of all sizes across the country to ensure ongoing collaboration and continued action that will help reduce delays for travellers

• Transport Canada-led meetings every week with airlines, airports, CATSA, NAV CANADA, CBSA, and PHAC to find and address bottlenecks; with over 20 meetings having been held to date

• To date, adding 12 new eGates, 4 dedicated NEXUS eGates, and 30 new primary inspection kiosks (PIKs) at Toronto Pearson International Airport to further facilitate entry and expedite traveller processing

• Granting exemptions to allow new screening officers to work while training to get more officers on the ground at airports

• Tripling the number of Transportation Security Clearances issued over the last year, to support the rapid on-boarding of new employees in the sector

• Improving pre-board security screening wait times across the country. From Aug. 18-21, 85% of passengers were screened within 15 minutes – an improvement from 79% for the first week of July; and

• Seeing improvement in the number of aircraft being held on the tarmac at Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport. One week in May alone, more than 370 aircraft were held, but by the third week of August, that number had dropped to just 47 aircraft.

“Airport delays are unacceptable,” said Alghabara. “Our government knows this and that’s why, from the beginning, we have been working with our industry partners to resolve the situation. We are seeing progress at airports across the country, but we know there is more work to be done. We will continue to add resources to reduce wait times and make air travel more efficient, while maintaining safety and security for all travellers.”

Task force co-chair Ien added, “The task force is making progress on how to better deliver government services for Canadians… We are changing the way we do things to meet Canadians where they are, while also taking into account our new realities.”

Quick Facts

• Since the creation of the task force in June, ministers have met 10 times to help address issues in service delivery

• Since April 1, 2022, Service Canada has issued over 850,000 passports

• The average wait times at the passport call centre have significantly decreased from a peak of 108 minutes earlier this spring to 24 minutes as of Aug. 21

• The passport triage system was implemented in the following areas: Montréal, Québec City, Gatineau, the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Surrey, and Richmond

• The 10-day pick-up service is now available in the following Service Canada Centres: Trois-Rivières, Sault Ste. Marie, Charlottetown, and Red Deer

• The Canadian Transportation Agency has developed an information resource to help passengers who are experiencing issues during their travel. This guide provides answers to many frequently asked travel questions and advises passengers of their rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations should their flights be delayed or cancelled, or in the event their baggage is lost, damaged, or delayed.