(Chapter 5—Passport Services—Passport Canada - March 2009 Status Report of the Auditor General)
Ottawa, 31 March 2009 – Passport Canada has addressed the problems it had in 2007 and developed an extensive response to prepare for any rise in passport applications leading up to June 2009, when Canadians entering the US by land or sea will be required to carry a passport under phase two of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. This represents satisfactory progress, says the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, in her Status Report tabled today in the House of Commons.
“In 2007, Passport Canada found itself unprepared for the overwhelming number of passport applications from Canadians wanting to fly to the United States,” said Ms. Fraser. “We are pleased at the extensive action it has taken to fix the problems it had and to be better prepared this time.”
The 2007 surge in demand for passports resulted in delays and increased waiting times for travelling Canadians. It also prompted the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to ask for a plan detailing how Passport Canada would prepare for the next phase in 2009.
The audit found that the Agency conducted lessons learned exercises to identify the causes of the problem and came up with concrete actions to address them. It built and equipped a new processing and printing centre for mail-in applications, took steps to streamline the processing of walk-in applications and hired more staff.
The Report says, however, that the Agency still needs to work on its contingency plan for adjusting quickly to changes such as excessive line-ups or delays in standard turnaround times.
Passport Canada has opened passport clinics in selected communities, revamped its website, and launched a major communication campaign encouraging Canadians to apply for passport well ahead of the June 2009 deadline.
“Passport Canada has put a lot of effort into correcting the problems it had with a sudden increase in demand for passports. Time will tell whether Canadians heed its advice to act early,” said Ms. Fraser.
The Status Report follows up on the government’s progress in addressing issues identified in previous reports. Progress is deemed either satisfactory or unsatisfactory, taking into account the complexity and significance of the issues and the amount of time that has passed since the original audit.
- 30 –
The chapter “Passport Services” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.
For more information, please click here.
