A confused scene at a passport office in downtown Montreal saw police called in to help control the crowds on Tuesday, while hopeful passengers pledged to stay the night just to secure their place in the queue.
For some, just waiting for a passport has increased from hours to days.
Sonia Basili personally left the application for her son’s passport in April.
Sitting in front of the Montreal office on Tuesday, she said she and her family had no choice but to line up, starting at 6pm the day before. Her flight to France took off on Wednesday night.
“My mother was sitting here, and then my husband was sleeping here. We went inside this morning, it was very disorganized. “We couldn’t get out, so we went back and slept here at night and left tomorrow morning,” Basili told CTV National News.
She remains positive, but says she is lucky to have family members who can sit down when needed, knowing that others do not have that privilege.
Basili says he even had to take a day off just to wait in line.
“When we get inside, what happens next?” she said. “Will we manage or will we stay outside and sleep outside again for the next day?”
Reviving interest in travel two years after the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp rise in passport applications, creating huge backlogs that are forcing some Canadians to cancel or reschedule their travel plans, potentially leaving them without thousands of dollars.
Some are advertising services to stand in line for passport applicants for a fee, while a Vancouver woman buys a return flight to Edmonton just to get her document in time for a trip to Las Vegas. She documents her experience at TikTok.
A statement from Service Canada in May said it had hired 600 new staff to process passport applications and opened additional special passport desks at more than 300 centers.
“We have hired another 600 people since January, in the process of hiring another 600,” said Minister of Family, Children and Social Development Karina Gould.
“Hundreds have been redeployed internally to Service Canada, attracting people from the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency), immigration. We are talking to Global Affairs, as well as other departments, to see how we can further expand the workforce so that we can ensure that Canadians receive their passports on time. ”
A ticketing system is expected to be introduced so that passport applicants do not have to camp outside.
With files from CTV News
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