Members of the Task Force on Services to Canadians, Ministers Ien, Miller, Gould, Alghabra and Fraser, provide an update on recent work to improve government services for Canadians

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 29, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadians, and those who want to visit, work, study, or start new lives in Canada, deserve high-quality and efficient government services that are accessible, timely, and make their lives easier. On June 25, 2022, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new ministerial task force to help improve government services, with a focus on reducing delays around passport processing, immigration services, and at Canadian airports. The task force has been meeting regularly throughout the summer to identify priority areas for action, and outline short- and longer-term solutions to better serve Canadians.

Today, the task force co-chairs, Ministers Ien and Miller, were joined by Ministers Gould, Alghabra and Fraser, to provide an update on the work undertaken in the recent months to address service delivery issues affecting Canadians. The task force discussed the underlying pandemic-related reasons for the significant surges in demand for travel and for other government services, which have been far bigger than anyone anticipated. These unprecedented increases in demand are a global phenomenon, and have contributed to delays and problems not only for Canadians, but for citizens of other countries around the world.

Minister Gould highlighted the important 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.

Minister Alghabra highlighted the significant action that the Government of Canada has taken in collaboration with industry partners 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 August 18-21, most passengers – 85% – were screened within 15 minutes. This was 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.

Minister Fraser highlighted how Canada is working to strengthen its immigration system and reduce application backlogs, with a focus on addressing labour shortages, improving client experience and reuniting families. This includes:

• Hiring up to 1,250 new employees by the end of the fall to increase processing capacity and tackle the backlogs in the short term;
• Modernizing and streamlining our operations to make Canada's system more sustainable in the long term;
• Welcoming over 300,000 new permanent resident admissions in 2022 by August 22, reaching the milestone earlier than in any previous year;
• Issuing over 349,000 new work permits from January 1 to July 31 this year, compared to approximately 112,000 issued during the same period in 2021;
• Finalizing almost 360,000 study permits between January 1 and July 31, 2022, compared to about 306,000 finalized in the same period in 2021;
• Approving over 216,000 applications for the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel from March 17 to August 24, 2022 for Ukrainians and family members looking to find safety in Canada;
• Introducing application status trackers for citizenship and some permanent residence applicants to have timely information on their files, which will be expanded to more clients in the coming year; and
• Publishing monthly data on our website to keep Canadians up to date on our progress.

The Government of Canada is working hard to improve the delivery of services that Canadians rely on every day. The task force will continue to drive action to implement short-and-and longer-term solutions that will reduce wait times, clear inventories and improve the overall quality of service to Canadians.

Quotes

"The task force is making progress on how to better deliver government services for Canadians that are accessible, timely and efficient. This includes working together to provide Canadians with the high-quality services they need and deserve. We are changing the way we do things to meet Canadians where they are, while also taking into account our new realities." 
– The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth and co-chair of the Service Delivery Task Force

"Canadians deserve and should expect the efficient delivery of services by their government. It is also important to recognize that service delivery needs vary. Remote, northern, racialized, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities face unique challenges. The task force will continue to support immediate and meaningful improvements, along with longer-term steps that anticipate the complex and rapidly-evolving realities that challenge service delivery." 
– The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and co-chair of the Service Delivery Task Force

"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 with additional staff, processing has increased and we are making real progress in reducing the backlog."
– The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Airport delays are unacceptable. 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."
– The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport

"Families, communities, and businesses deserve an immigration system that works for everyone. Through targeted investments, hiring 1250 employees to address the backlog, and the improvement of our online systems and processes, we will deliver on our promise to Canadians. We will reduce wait times and work hard to attract and retain skilled workers, as we continue to help communities across the country access the talent they need." 
– The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship 

Quick Facts

• Since the creation of the task force in June 2022, Ministers have met 10 times to help address issues in service delivery to Canadians.
• 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 August 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.
• At any given time, IRCC is managing over 1 million applications from its inventories. In 2021, we finalized 1.7 million applications across all lines of business.

Associated Links

Canadian passports and travel documents 
Passport program statistics
Improving passport processing 
The Government of Canada and industry continue efforts to reduce wait times and delays at Canadian airports  
Infographic: Recovery of Air Transportation in Canada 
Building a stronger immigration system - Canada.ca

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For media enquiries, please contact: Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, 613-993-0055, [email protected]; Media Relations, Communications Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-952-1650, [email protected]