When Bill Ferguson walked into the Canada Office in British Columbia to renew his passport last August, he expected a quick, stress-free process. It turns out to be anything but.
Ferguson was told the New Westminster location does not make passports or even help with the application process.
He says he then went to the local post office to fill out the paperwork and send it off.
Ferguson admits that his first attempt failed because of a mistake he made. . However, he quickly resubmitted all the necessary documents, including his expired passport.
Ferguson claims the package was lost by Canada Post, forcing him to fill out a lost passport application.
“Another month went by and they said, ‘Oh no, that’s not going to happen because the passport was expired anyway.’ The point is moot, you have to reapply,” Ferguson said.
After a third attempt, Ferguson says he received confirmation that Service Canada had received the application on February 16.
He says he contacted them again in March and was told he should be able to pick it up in Surrey in a few weeks.
But that never happened.
“In May I got fed up and went to my MP, they said to take care of it and try to get in touch with them,” Ferguson said.
As of Saturday, however, Ferguson is still a man without a passport.
“I never do anything, I never go anywhere, I never have fun”
“I’ve never been so frustrated in my entire life that I wanted to claw my eyes out,” Ferguson said.
While Ferguson chose the postal route, thousands of others braved long lines, even waiting days, just to get into a passport office.
New sorting measures aimed at easing long queues and frustration were introduced in Surrey this week. Those with trips within 48 hours are entered straight in.
However, Ferguson says he is unwilling to risk booking travel without already having a passport.
“It puts the kibosh on travel to the U.S. or overseas, that’s for sure,” Ferguson said
“I don’t know what the solution is, it’s just absolutely insane.”
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