Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I take issue with the member's question, because let us be clear that when people are working from home they are still working. The first point is that the numbers she is quoting are for the entire 29,000-person Service Canada workforce. When it comes to people who are in-person and in-office Service Canada passport officers, almost 90% of them are back in the office. Th…
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Mr. Speaker, this government is putting Canadians first, and we are always putting Canadians first. In fact, in that member's province of Manitoba, we signed an early learning and child care agreement whereby families, on average, are going to save $2,600 a year. That is real money in the pockets of families, and that is in addition to the Canada child benefit, which could provide families with ch…
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that there is an unprecedented demand to travel after these two years of the pandemic. We are retooling and redoing processes so that we can absolutely serve Canadians as necessary. However, what we are not doing on this side of the House is pretending that there was no pandemic, pretending that it did not have an impact on a whole wide range of industries. We are taking…
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Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the Bloc Québécois's interest in Canadian passports. I understand that Canadians across the country are frustrated about the wait times for getting their passports. We understand that Canadians want to travel again, after following guidelines and staying home for two years. Demand is very high, and we are responding. We have already hired 600 additional people and are hi…
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Mr. Speaker, of course Canadians want to get back to normal after two years of a pandemic. We understand that. However, we have to kick-start all parts of the Government of Canada. We are adding more staff and extending working hours to ensure that we are meeting this increased demand. We understand that Canadians are frustrated. We will be there for them and make the changes required to ensure th…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians are frustrated. For the past two years, they have followed the rules and stayed home. They want to travel and go on vacation. We are doing everything we can. Demand is incredible right now. The government is working on it, changing the process and adding more people to serve Canadians. We will keep working on it until we fix it.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned several times in the House, there is an unprecedented number of passport applications. People can go to a passport office 45 days before travelling. I am checking with Service Canada to see how it is responding to this directive on the ground. We will reassure Canadians and ensure that the right information is posted on the website. We will continue to ensure that …
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a frustrating situation for Canadians in Quebec and across the country. We are responding to it. We know that after two years of restrictions, Canadians want to travel. We have hired more than 600 people and we are in the process of hiring 600 more. Service Canada employees are working days, evenings and weekends. We will try to do our best because Canadians …
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to giving families more money to help with the high cost of raising their kids and to making a real difference in the lives of our children. That is why, in 2016, the government introduced the Canada child benefit to provide increased support for low- to middle-income families with children. The Canada child benefit is tax-free and based on income…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained to this House before, we are experiencing unprecedented volumes when it comes to passports. It is important for us to share this information with Canadians so that they can plan accordingly. We know that this is frustrating and that this is stressful for them, but ensuring that we provide transparent information is important. When it comes to international comparis…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the member's speech and I found it quite concerning that he was disparaging a Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement that the Alberta government signed on to, with $4 billion going to Alberta families. Those in registered child care have actually seen a 50% reduction in fees since January. He talked about the importance of building new spaces and…
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Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking the member for Whitby, who is the hardest-working member in this House when it comes to social finance. Social purpose organizations like charities and non-profits play a key role in addressing complex social and environmental issues. They are more important than ever, as many of these issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we launc…
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Mr. Speaker, an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Order 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the report stage and third reading stage of Bill C-5, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the Crown will propose at the next sitting a motion to allot a specific…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House before, we are seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of passport applications. Nevertheless, people should not have to pay to have their application processed more quickly if it occurs outside normal service hours. Also, a dozen offices are open almost every Saturday to ensure that we can respond to urgent requests.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, those fees should not apply if the passport is not delivered within the normal 20-day period. I will raise the matter with Service Canada again. I know Service Canada employees are working extremely hard, including evenings and weekends, to serve Canadians. They are there, and we will do everything in our power to make sure Canadians receive their passports before travellin…
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Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well that in his province of New Brunswick, we have now reduced child care fees by 50%. In fact, that leaves hundreds of dollars each month in the pockets of the mothers he is talking about. When it comes to the Canada child benefit, for a single mom, that could mean almost $7,000 a year. That is real money for families that need it when it comes to the high cost…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. As we know, this is an unprecedented time, when many Canadians want to travel at the same time. Many passports expired over the past two years, and we are in the process of ensuring that Canadians can travel because we know that is what they want to do. As I have already mentioned in the House, many offices across the country are open in the…
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Mr. Speaker, it is really reassuring to hear the Bloc talk about Canadian passports. We are in the process of hiring more employees. Since January, 600 employees have been hired. We are now hiring another 600, and 600 Service Canada employees are being redeployed to ensure that we can better respond to Canadians' needs. We will continue to change the process because we know that it is important fo…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to kids and families, our government has been there every step of the way. In 2015, we introduced the Canada child benefit, lifting 300,000 Canadians families out of poverty. In fact, in the member's riding of Brantford—Brant, families that have children in child care will soon be receiving a 25% reduction in fees, and by the end of this year, that fee will be reduced by…
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the member of Parliament to reach out to my office. For everyone who has done that, we have been able to ensure their passport is received in time. We are experiencing challenges, but we will continue to do everything we can to address these challenges.
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Mr. Speaker, we have acknowledged from the beginning that this is a challenge. These volumes are unprecedented. There are passports that are up for renewal this year, as well as from the past two years, plus additional passports for people who have never requested them before. Unlike the Conservatives, if constituents have a challenge and need support for an urgent passport, they should please con…
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Mr. Speaker, let me just clarify it for the member. When one reads the website, it is 10-day processing for in-person services at a specialized passport office, and 96% of applicants are getting their passports within less than 10 days when they go to a specialized passport office. The challenge is in the mail system. As I have explained to this House before, prepandemic 80% of applications happen…
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Mr. Speaker, I know it is frustrating for Canadians who, over the past two years, have heeded the government's instructions and stayed home. They want to travel. Around the world, countries like Canada, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and France, are seeing wait times of 9 to 11 weeks. That kind of thing is happening everywhere. We are increasing our resources to deal with th…
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Mr. Speaker, we welcome and accept the report from the Auditor General today. We have an initiative called “Reaching All Canadians” to try to ensure that Canadians have access to the benefits they are eligible for. We have been working with third party organizations to ensure that those who are eligible for benefits like the Canada child benefit, old age security and the guaranteed income suppleme…
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Mr. Speaker, around the world people are looking to travel after being home for two years. This is something that is not just happening in Canada. In fact, when we look at passport-processing times in other countries, we see that in the United States, for example, it is nine to 11 weeks. When we look at the U.K., it is a minimum of 10 weeks. When we look at Sweden, it is actually 27.5 weeks before…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. We understand Canadians' frustrations at this time. We have been receiving an unprecedented number of passport applications, and we are responding. We are in a transition period. We are hoping to emerge from the pandemic. We understand that we must put in place the resources required to meet demand, and we will keep these measures…
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Madam Speaker, as I said last week, that is correct. No Canadian should be paying extra fees if they have submitted all the correct documents and everything is in order with their application, and if their application is not processed within the processing times. If that is in fact the case, there is a refund process. I would be happy to follow up with the member opposite to share with him how he …
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Madam Speaker, as I said, we recognize that Canadians are experiencing frustration right now with the incredible surge in demand when it comes to passports. We are experiencing unprecedented demand, the likes of which we have not seen since 2006, because over the past two years Canadians followed public health advice. They stayed home and did their part to keep themselves and their loved ones safe…
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Madam Speaker, for in-person passport services, we are meeting standards about 98% of the time. These are within 10 days. It is the mail-in option that is experiencing delays. We continue to work around the clock. Previous to the pandemic, the majority of passports were processed in person as opposed to the mail-in option. This has now shifted, so we are adjusting and shifting resources as necessa…
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Madam Speaker, there is a huge demand for passports at this point in time. I understand the situation that Kristie is in. I would invite the member opposite, and any members opposite if they also have urgent cases, to please get in touch with my office. We are happy to help them ensure that Canadians get their passports on time. As I have explained recently, prepandemic the majority of passport de…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to understand the Conservatives. They tell us to do things to help Canadians and when we do just that, they tell us to stop. We are investing in child care. This is real money going back into the pockets of Canadians. We are funding education for Canadians. These are real supports for Canadians. We are here to help them. That is exactly what we are going to do in Quebec…
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, we were in a pandemic for two years. We are now in a period of transition. Canadians followed the rules. They did everything they could to keep themselves and their friends safe. We thank Canadians. The Government of Canada will be there to help them. We are putting measures in place to ensure that Canadians receive the services they need.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge that after two years of staying home and making sure that they are doing everything they can to protect themselves and their loved ones, Canadians now want to travel. We understand that there is a huge demand. There are unprecedented volumes, in fact volumes we have not seen since 2006, when the United States asked Canadians to have a passport to travel there. We…
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for that member, because British Columbia has signed on to the $10-a-day child care agreement. That single dad is going to receive up to $6,000 a year in child care reductions if his child is in day care. There is also the Canada child benefit, so for him, as a single parent, he could be earning up to $6,000 a year to support his children. We are there for families ev…
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Mr. Speaker, as I just said to the previous member through you, we are experiencing an unprecedented demand. We recognize that Canadians want to travel. That is why, back in December, we started hiring 500 additional employees to meet this rise in demand. It is why Service Canada employees are working on evenings and weekends. In fact, for the past three weekends, almost a dozen Service Canada pas…
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Mr. Speaker, as we have said several times in the House, we certainly understand the feelings of Canadians right now who, for the past two years, have done their part and followed public health advice and now are looking to travel again. Of course, over the past two years there have been many passports that have expired. While Service Canada is fully operational, every kiosk is open, and employees…
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Mr. Speaker, again, as I have mentioned several times in the House, and as I will repeat for the benefit of that member and all members, we are experiencing an unprecedented volume, the likes of which we have not seen since 2006, when the United States required a passport for Canadians. We have already taken additional measures, and we will continue to keep these measures in place as we recognize …
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Mr. Speaker, I have said this several times, but I will say it again. We know that demand is extremely high right now. As I have already explained to the House several times, we have taken many measures to try to meet that unprecedented growth in demand for Canadians. Our measures will remain in place to meet that demand, to meet Canadians' needs.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for raising this important issue. We understand that the cost of living has gone up, particularly because of COVID and because of the illegal war in Ukraine. That is why we have the Canada child benefit in place, which, in fact, we had before. It has helped lift over 300,000 families out of poverty and we continue to ensure that it is indexed to inflation so …
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Mr. Speaker, as I have stated numerous times in the House, there is an unprecedented demand when it comes to passports, and the reason why Service Canada passport offices are only able to serve people with urgent travel is because of this unprecedented demand. That being said, the 303 Service Canada offices are open to receive passport applications for those who are travelling in a longer period o…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said, there is an unprecedented demand right now when it comes to passports. However, if all required documents have been submitted and Service Canada is outside service standards, the client will not be charged for expedited or transfer fees. This is not something that should be happening and, of course, if it is, I invite either MPs or citizens to follow up with Service Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, as of this week, all wickets in Service Canada offices across the country are open. They are also opening to ensure that clients can wait inside. There are both by-appointment and walk-in services. As I have said, we are experiencing a huge surge in demand when it comes to passports. We understand that Canadians, over the past few years, stayed home and followed public health…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, over the past two years a number of passports have expired, and Canadians now want to travel again. That being said, two years ago Passport Canada processed 300,000 applications. Last year, it was 1.2 million. In April alone, we had 300,000 passports processed. There is an unprecedented demand, in terms of getting passports processed. We are responding in kind to serve Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. I understand Canadians' frustration. It is truly frustrating. We are seeing an unbelievable increase in the number of passport applications. However, this week, every passport office will be open. Employees are returning to the office and are working overtime on evenings and weekends to ensure that we can serve Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned many times in the House, we are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the demand for passports. After two years, Canadians understandably would like to travel again, but that means that when everyone is applying at the same time, it is a lot for the system to handle. That being said, we have ensured that we have hired additional people. We have opened on evenin…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly understand that this is very frustrating for Canadians, but when we have people who are all asking to renew a passport at the same time, it is unprecedented. We did ensure that we had hired 500 additional passport officers ahead of time. We changed it so that 303 Service Canada—
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, I understand that this is frustrating for Canadians and that after two years of staying home, Canadians want to travel. However, when everyone is applying at the same time, there is unprecedented volume that is happening. To accommodate this, we have hired 500 additional passport officers and enabled Canadians to apply not just to passport offices but at the 303 Service Can…
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to the people working at Service Canada who have been working overtime and weekends and doing everything they can to service Canadians, “Thank you.” They are under extreme stress because of the overwhelming volume of passports that they are working really hard to process. I know, as I visited the folks at Service Canada in Saskatoon and they spoke about the good wor…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member opposite's constituents on expecting their baby because there is good news: In Alberta, child care costs have gone down 50%. In fact, I was just in Edmonton and Calgary a couple of weeks ago talking to parents who had benefited from reduced child care fees. They have said it is actually the equivalent of a mortgage payment. We are working every …
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Mr. Speaker, as I said before in the House, there is unprecedented demand when it comes to accessing passports. We have put a number of initiatives in place to help deal with this. We have a simplified process to replace expired passports. We have opened more client counters in passport offices. We have operated extended hours and used overtime in passport offices and processing and call centres. …
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