Senator Miville-Dechêne: The man went to the passport office because he wanted to submit his application for processing. He was planning to leave in six weeks, so there was no rush. He just wanted to submit it. However, he was told not to submit it but to line up right away to get his passport. He was told to go ahead of other people. That means the lineups in Montreal include people who are not in urgent need of a passport. Is the government making the crisis worse by telling people to do this?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, if I may, I would like to return to the issue of the passport crisis, particularly in Montreal.

A colleague from Montreal told me a rather incredible story. He wanted to submit his passport application at the Service Canada office on Décarie Street in Montreal, six weeks before he was supposed to leave on a trip with his children. The clerk told him, “No, don’t do that, get in line now.” That means that some people in these lineups are leaving in six weeks and have been told that the system is so lousy that it is better to wait in line now than to submit their application. By doing this, by giving this kind of advice, is the government making the crisis worse?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: I’m still a little perplexed, Senator Gold, because when the pandemic first hit, the federal government managed to get CERB out in record time, which clearly shows that bureaucratic obstacles can be overcome. However, this appears to be impossible today, even for passport services, which are essential. Why have officials not rearranged the employees’ work schedules in order to open passport offices on weekends?