Federal minister giving passport backlog update at cabinet retreat

The federal minister responsible for passports, Karina Gould, is giving an update on the application backlog today during the Liberal cabinet retreat.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers are meeting in Hamilton, Ont., this week to plan out the federal government’s priorities before the House of Commons returns on Jan. 30.

Passport delays stretched to several months and led to cancelled plans and travel headaches over the summer. There were also extended wait times to submit applications at passport offices, leading to many being held up for hours — and in some cases, camping out for days outside offices — to submit their paperwork.

The delays prompted Gould to ask people not to fake travel plans in a bid to expedite their application, and led to criticism and questioning of the federal government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians.

A spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) told CTVNews.ca earlier this month those who have submitted their passport applications after Oct. 3, 2022, have seen pre-pandemic processing times, while extra staff continues to tackle the backlog from the summer and into September.

“New measures introduced to increase passport processing capacity have allowed us to reduce the inventory of mail-in applications to less than 50,000,” wrote ESDC spokesperson Mila Roy in an email to CTVNews.ca on Jan. 4.

“Of these applications, individuals with upcoming travel who are still waiting for their passport can request a transfer by contacting the Passport Program, or by visiting a passport office or a Service Canada Centre, in order to ensure their application is processed in time for their travel.”

Roy wrote the high application volume in the early half of last year, plus pandemic health and safety measures, lead to a “build-up of inventory that exceeded our capacity,” but credited “hiring efforts, an increase in efficiency, and the streamlining of processes” for the backlog being reduced in recent months.

For those who applied before Oct. 3, the wait time still “varies” to receive their passport, but clients can have their application expedited without having to show proof of imminent travel.

ESDC has also reported more passports issued than applications received every month since August, reducing the backlog.