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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 58

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 58 - Apr/26/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Apr/26/22 3:06:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are travelling again, and a significant increase in demand for passports has resulted in long lineups and wait times for in-person service. We understand that this is difficult and stressful. We have, in fact, hired an additional 500 passport officers to help process this. We have made Service Canada available to ensure that individuals who need to travel on a non-urgent basis can deposit their applications. We will continue to work very hard right across the country to meet this increased demand.
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Context: House Hansard - 58 - Apr/26/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Apr/26/22 3:07:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that after two years, Canadians are interested in travelling. Many people had their passports expire during this time. Unfortunately, we have a huge surge in demand. We have hired 500 additional passport officers to help process this. We have a simplified process to replace expired passports of up to five years. We have opened more client counters in passport offices. We are operating extended hours, into the evening. Passport officers are working around the clock and on weekends to do their very best to serve Canadians.
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Context: House Hansard - 58 - Apr/26/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Apr/26/22 3:09:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my colleague that that is exactly why passport officers are working around the clock. They are working late hours. We have hired additional officers. We have opened up more Service Canada centres to meet this rising demand to renew passports. We are ensuring that passport officers are working through the weekend. We have an incredible surge in demand, unlike anything we have seen before. Despite all of that, passport officers and Service Canada personnel are working around the clock, because their number one job is to serve Canadians, and that is what they are working hard to do.
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Context: House Hansard - 58 - Apr/26/22
Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)
  • Apr/26/22 3:10:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in just under a year, we have signed child care agreements with every single province and territory. Right here in Ontario, that means that families will see, by the end of this calendar year, savings of up to $6,000 per child in licensed child care. That is incredible savings for a family. It also means that we are going to increase the number of spaces in Ontario by 86,000, because we know that it is not just about affordability. It is also about accessibility. We have hired more ECEs to deliver quality child care for families in this province.
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