After spending a night under storms, people who had been waiting for long hours in front of a passport office in Laval were expelled yesterday morning by the police before they could even get their hands on their document.
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“It looks like a banana republic. Making people camp outside without giving them information is inhumane,” said Ghyslaine Trudeau.
Her daughter stood for more than 30 hours in front of the office located in a shopping center to obtain her child’s passport. The three are due to leave Monday for Walt Disney… if they manage to get their hands on the precious document by then.
Yesterday morning, the federal passport office requested the assistance of the Laval police department to evacuate the premises, spokesperson Erika Landry confirmed. At the time, hundreds of people were waiting in line, according to people on the scene. Only those who had an appointment, who needed to collect a ready passport or who flew before 11:59 p.m. yesterday could stay, the officer said.
Disgruntled
All the others were returned home empty-handed. Some people expressed their dissatisfaction, but the evacuation took place without great difficulty, underlined Ms. Landry.
Service Canada had still not responded to our interview request last night.
Courtesy Sophie Gingras
“We feel downright betrayed by Canada. Many of us are so desperate, ”said Jean-Philippe Lamarre, who had been waiting for 5 p.m. He is due to fly out on Monday to visit his wife’s family in South Korea.
He spent the night from Thursday to Friday in the rain and lightning in a parking lot that was even flooded before finally being told to return home.
“Thunders were clattering so loudly. I had come by bike, but people were united, so I was able to take refuge in a car. Beside us, I heard ladies screaming when lightning struck,” he reported on the phone.
“Spending the night in the rain and wind was hell. It’s not serious. If from the beginning we had known what to expect, but the management was completely deficient, ”dropped Sylvain Martel, who had been waiting since Thursday morning at 7 a.m.
In advance
Jean-Philippe Lamarre also deplores that the authorities let them spend the night outside without giving them any information. Especially since the young father believed he had taken himself in advance when he applied for a passport for his six-month-old son last March.
“When my daughter applied in April, we weren’t talking about the monster wait times in the media. She could not have known that the passport would not arrive as planned before May 26, ”added Ghyslaine Trudeau.
The grandma hopes her 11-year-old granddaughter can fulfill her dream of visiting Walt Disney, Florida. “It’s been two years since Christmas, their birthdays, all the holidays fell through. The worst thing would be to have to hurt him again just because we haven’t received his passport. It would break my heart, ”she dropped.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com