KINGSTON, ON, Sept. 7, 2022 /CNW/ - Service Canada continues to introduce a variety of new measures to improve passport service delivery and decrease wait times for Canadians as it works through unprecedented demands. The triage system introduced this summer in 17 of our 35 passport offices has made a significant impact in reducing lineups and redirecting Canadians to the appropriate means to access service. The average wait time at call centres has also improved, going from a peak of 108 minutes in April to 28 minutes last week.
Today, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Mark Gerretsen, announced the designation of the Kingston Service Canada Centre as an additional passport pick-up location. Effective immediately, Canadians can now apply for and pick up their passport at the Service Canada Centre in Kingston. In addition, three other passport pick-up locations across the country have been designated, including:
- Sudbury, Ontario (Sudbury Service Canada Centre)
- Lethbridge, Alberta (Lethbridge Service Canada Centre)
- Sherbrooke, Québec. (Sherbrooke Service Canada Centre)
In addition to the existing passport offices offering pick-up service, Canadians with proof of travel can now both apply and request in-person pick-up of their passport at a total of eight Service Canada Centres. Unlike the regular Service Canada Centres, these eight locations offer 10-day service, which means that Canadians can apply for a passport in one of those locations and the passport will be available in 10 business days, either by mail or in person pick-up. If Canadians need their passport in less than 10 business days, they will need to visit a passport office that offers Express or Urgent pick-up service.
The expansion of pick-up sites will allow many Canadians who need to pick up passports to do so closer to their homes. Service Canada is fully committed to providing passport services within 50km of the home of Canadians. Also, more scheduled outreach sites that will provide certain passport services will be added in the coming weeks across the country.
"I am pleased that our community will now have access to more accessible and timely passport services. My office has been hearing from many constituents expressing the challenges posed by the burden of travelling long distances to reach passport offices in Ottawa or Toronto. The expansion of Kingston's Service Canada passport services will hopefully relieve the pressure for people in our community needing the speedy delivery of passports, and improve the service experience for our community as a whole."
Mark Gerretsen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), MP for Kingston and the Islands
- Since April 1, 2022, Service Canada has issued 912,236 passports.
- For the week of August 22 to 28, 2022, Service Canada has issued 54,667 passports.
- Started in the week of June 20, triage measures were implemented in 17 passport offices across the country.
- On July 25, Service Canada expanded the passport pick-up service to 5 additional passport offices: Brampton, Whitby, Pointe-Claire, Calgary Sundance and Richmond.
- On July 29, Service Canada announced that Canadians who provided a duly completed application by mail more than 20 business days ago, and are travelling within the next 20 business days, can visit any of over 300 Service Canada Centers to make a transfer request to ensure their application is processed in time for their travel.
- On August 17, Service Canada announced that Canadians with proof of travel can apply for and pick up their passport at Service Canada Centres in Trois-Rivières, Sault Ste. Marie, Charlottetown and Red Deer.
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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
Contacts: Mohammad Hussain, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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