Earlier in June, Mr. Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, had declared the development of a Task Force to assess the IRCC’s service standards, Canadian airports, and passport applications.
The Task Force was an initiative that was introduced to address the excessive application backlog. Before this Task Force was launched, Canadian immigration faced a heavy backlog, with 2.4 million people waiting to process applications.
The Task Force essentially involves a group of federal ministers who gather to discuss the scope for improvements to recognize the service gaps.
IRCC backlog is growing significantly
As per the data, the IRCCs backlog has only increased with time, and the processing times have been hugely affected.
IRCC comprises a tool to check the processing times, and it gives a fair idea about the actual time it will take for the applicant’s application to be processed. The department has somehow been unable to keep up with the standard processing times.
Fraser even stated in June that the IRCC’s processing time for applications will likely improve by introducing new measures such as investing in technology and bringing in more staff members. He even claimed that the service standards would normalize by 2022.
He further stated that in the upcoming time, the applicants would have an idea of a defined period from 60 days, 6 months to 12 months. There would no longer be the uncertainty of the processing times.
Four new passports pick-up offices launched
Now that the Covid restrictions have been reduced, Service Canada suffers from an unexpected and sudden emergence of passport applications. As a result, people have had to face massive challenges as their patience is being tested due to waiting for long hours with the uncertainty in processing applications.
The Task Force has further introduced new measures and the modifications will come into effect pretty soon.
The most significant initiative that the Canadian government has taken is the introduction of four new passport pick-up locations. As per official reports, the offices will open in Quebec, PEI, Alberta, Charlottetown, Red Deer, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Trois-Rivières.
According to official reports, nearly 20 new pick-up places for applications are likely to open. The recent locations will have a processing time of nine to ten business days for the passports.
The Canadians can easily access the new locations for passport pick-up as they would be situated within 50 km of most Canadians. This new introduction will lead to the removal of long lines in other areas, most of which will have prolonged service hours.
2021 Fiscal and Economic Update had over $85 million investment made through the government to reduce the waiting hours and the application backlog. The investment had largely contributed to recruiting 500 additional passport officers and 319 Citizen Services Officers.
Other federal agencies are also assisting the government to train the staff properly to process passports.
Other Initiatives
Canadians seeking to refresh their Canadian passports will now get access to a much more simplified process for renewing passports in case they have expired, damaged, lost, or stolen.
You will need to submit the following things for passport renewal:
- Two photographs
- Application form and payment fees
You will not have to submit the citizenship proof via mail or find someone to provide a guarantee.
The Task Force has solid plans to navigate through more alternatives to let people submit online applications and bring forth at least 300 Service Canada centers to proceed with application processing. There is no certainty about when the government will implement these initiatives.
