Senator Martin: Senator, excuses and further delays are unacceptable. The government knew that the 10-year passports were expiring and knew there would be demand once the pandemic was over.

Passports aren’t the only issue at IRCC. While life has returned to normal for millions of Canadians, new Canadians still cannot take their oath of citizenship at an in-person ceremony. As an immigrant myself, I know that for a new Canadian taking their oath, alongside dozens of other excited new Canadians, is among the most important moments and memories.

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Senator Gold, why is the minister continuing to deny new Canadians this once-in-a-lifetime experience?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): I have a question for the government leader as well. Life is returning to normal after the COVID pandemic. Children are back at school. People are back at work. Canadians are travelling again — well, they would be if they could get their passports, that is.

Canadians are facing these unprecedented backlogs at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, to get their passports so they can travel. Miscommunication and contradictory information from Service Canada have only exacerbated the problem. Senator Gold, when will the minister responsible apologize to Canadians and clear the backlog?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Minister Gould, there are many stories in the media lately of Canadians waiting long hours in massive lineups for passport services. Service Canada is currently experiencing what it calls an “unprecedented surge” in passport applications, receiving more than 200,000 calls per day for passport requests, about 40 times higher than the average daily requests it received before the pandemic.

Minister, yesterday in the other place you said that you’ve hired 500 additional passport officers. Are these new staff working today or are they in the process of being hired? Where are they located? Are they on-site in Service Canada locations or working from home?

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