By Canadian Press and Josh Hall (rdnewsNOW)

speeding things up

Red Deer one of four cities getting new passport services

Aug 17, 2022 | 9:39 AM

Red Deer is part of a federal announcement Wednesday that will see new passport service locations added in four Canadian cities.

Government officials say this is to address a backlog in processing applications.

Social Development Minister Karina Gould says people can now apply for and pick up passports at four additional Service Canada centres; in Red Deer, as mentioned, as well as in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Charlottetown, PEI, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Officials note nearly 1.1 million applications for new and renewed passports have been filed since April as pandemic restrictions loosen and Canadians resume travelling.

More than one-quarter of those haven’t yet been processed.

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“Service Canada is working tirelessly to identify and implement solutions that not only improve the speedy delivery of passports, but also improve the service experience for Canadians,” says Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. “We will continue to make our services more accessible for all Canadians.”

According to Employment and Social Development Canada, the first week of August saw the number of passports issued within 40 business days fall to 72 per cent, from 81 per cent the week before.

Since April 1, 2022, Service Canada has issued 801,353 passports, they add, while during the week of August 8-14, Service Canada issued 52,569 passports.

Government data suggests the system is beginning to catch up with demand, however a large backlog remains, especially with mail-in applications.

On July 29, Service Canada said Canadians who submitted a complete application by mail more than 20 business days ago, and are travelling within the next 20 business days, can visit any of the more than 300 Service Canada Centres to make a transfer request to ensure their application is processed in time for their travel.

(with files from The Canadian Press)