The federal task force created to improve service delays says that after spending the summer addressing the significant lines and wait times Canadians experience at airports, passport offices and those waiting for applications to be processed of immigration, the situation is beginning to improve, but “we are not out of the woods yet.
“There is a lot of work to be done and, in some cases, we are falling short of the pre-pandemic level of service that Canadians expect and deserve,” said task force co-chair, Crown Minister for Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, during a press conference. conference on Monday.
Providing an update on the progress made so far, the government touted improvements including:
- hiring of more than 700 new employees for passport offices;
- decrease passport call center wait times;
- establish more “collection services and sorting measures” for passports;
- the hiring of 1,800 more security control agents at the airports;
- reduce flight delays, cancellations and baggage problems; Y
- Hire 1,250 new employees to address the backlog and speed up the processing of immigration applications.
Miller acknowledged that the situation faced by Canadians this spring and early summer “should never have happened,” and that in some areas federal liberals were “slow to respond.”
Assessing what caused this service delivery crisis, the co-chair of the task force, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Marci Ien, said on Monday that it was the result of a demand that far exceeded the capacity to respond. of the federal government. It is a situation that is also experienced in other countries, she added.
Ien cited an “unprecedented” increase in travel by Canadians; the impact of having to adjust to international travel restrictions and border closures; and reduced government-wide processing capacity during the pandemic as exacerbating factors. However, Miller said the government is not looking to blame others, whether it be the airlines or other unprecedented global events like the war in Ukraine that have strained demands for government services, because “so much of the responsibility has fallen on our shoulders.” “.
“There is a lot of work to do, and to look inward and see how we can get that machinery of government back up and running and getting to a standard of service. And then looking long term as to what we have to do to fix the problem, whether it’s old systems that haven’t been updated for decades, whether it’s more people,” Miller said.
He added that these approaches were taken over the summer to expedite arrangements for people to get their passports more quickly, but questioned whether that is the most effective way to provide a more systemic fix and break down government “silos.”
Monday’s press conference was held alongside cabinet ministers who have responsibility for tackling the long queues at airports, as well as passport and immigration offices: Minister for Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould , head of Service Canada; Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra; Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser; and the Minister of Public Security Marco Mendicino.
Taking turns highlighting statistics meant to indicate how things are changing, the ministers said they will continue to work to further improve Canadians’ access to these key government services.
“We know the wait is too long and in many cases we need to address it and return the standard of service that our clients – prospective students, workers, permanent residents and citizens of Canada – have come to expect,” the immigration official said. minister about the delay in processing those files, promising additional measures to help in the coming months.
Asked when Canadians can reliably expect passport delivery times to return to what they were before the pandemic, Gould said those who have a trip planned within 45 days and go to an office of passports will receive your passport within 10 days, barring specific security or other complications. She said the challenges remain more with the mail-in application system, often because these filings don’t have a specific upcoming travel date.
“We are making considerable progress and hope to return to more normal service standards this fall,” Gould said.
In late June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of this task force, a committee made up of 10 cabinet ministers, which acknowledged the “unacceptable” wait times and delays that Canadians have been experiencing with applications for passport and immigration.
The prime minister tasked the group with reviewing service delivery, identifying gaps and areas for improvement, and formulating recommendations to improve the quality and efficiency of government services.
The task force has met 10 times since it was attacked and says it has been making changes along the way, but will also make recommendations to the prime minister through the cabinet.
“That is inevitably what will result in any kind of improvement that Canadians deserve,” Miller said.