Canadian travellers saddled with uncertainty amid passport delays

From April 1 to the end of June, Service Canada received more than 808,000 applications, which is roughly 166,000 more than it received during the same period in 2019.

Chris Vale emerged from a Scarborough Service Canada location Thursday feeling a surge of relief. Clutched between his fingers was the passport he and his wife had applied for weeks ago.

The document is for their 13-month-old little girl. They travel in a matter of days, meaning the process of getting the passport came down to the wire.

“It’s great to finally have this in hand. It’s been a long process,” Vale told Global News. “It’s been about nine or ten weeks now.”

Vale and his family are travelling to the east coast and detouring through the United States.

His wife spent hours on both the French and English phone lines, looking to expedite the process. When she finally got through, Vale says they learned that their daughter’s application had never been looked at before that moment. He tells Global News they submitted it nine weeks prior.

“That’s when we were actually able to get the process moved up to a two-day,” he explained.

From April 1 to the end of June, Service Canada received more than 808,000 applications, which is roughly 166,000 more than it received during the same period in 2019.

Families minister Karina Gould acknowledged during an interview with Global News that more needs to be done, and quickly. Gould has gone on record saying she is confident the government can clear the backlog in four to six weeks, or by the end of the summer.