- Member of Parliament
- Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (on parental leave)
- Liberal
- Burlington
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $131,115.10
- Government Page
- Apr/28/23 11:24:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. Unfortunately, by law, passports are not considered essential.
I am being honest with Canadians in telling them that passport applications cannot be processed during the strike. However, we understand that this has an impact on the lives of Canadians. That is precisely why we are at the bargaining table with the union.
We want to resolve this strike quickly because it is having a real impact on Canadians.
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- Apr/25/23 2:47:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, I am not going to spin the situation for Canadians; I am going to be straight and honest with them. The law dictates what is an essential service, and passports are not considered essential under the law. I am not going to make things up; I am going to be straight with Canadians. When it comes to essential services like CPP, OAS, GIS, employment insurance, social insurance numbers, and filing taxes, these are all services that continue to be provided because they are considered to be essential.
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- Apr/24/23 2:44:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives have an issue with the truth, but I am just going to tell it. The truth of the matter is that while there is a strike going on, I recommend that Canadians do not submit an application for a passport unless it is urgent. With the strike conditions, under law, those passports cannot be processed.
Unlike the Conservatives, I actually believe in telling the truth to Canadians.
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- Sep/26/22 3:11:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
I can assure him that the people at Service Canada are serving Canadians, whether it is for help with employment insurance, pensions or passports. We will continue to ensure that Canadians receive these services.
As for the employment insurance, I can assure my colleague that everyone is busy dealing with these changes and people are up to the task.
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- Jun/23/22 2:27:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Service Canada employees are already working 12, 14 or 16 hours a day. They are there first thing in the morning. They are serving Canadians. They are also working Saturdays to process passports.
They receive applications during the day. At night, they process them and print the passports. They are working extremely hard in this extraordinary situation that is happening in Montreal.
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- Jun/22/22 3:15:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I want to clarify something. The members opposite keep saying that public servants need to get back to work. Public servants at Service Canada have been in offices for months. They have been working around the clock. The people they are talking about who are working from home are the same people who delivered CERB to nine million Canadians. They are the same people who have delivered EI, OAS and CPP at the highest rate in 15 years.
We know there are challenges with passports right now. We continue to work around the clock, and public servants are working—
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- Jun/22/22 3:14:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal right now is like nowhere else in the country, with hundreds of people lining up at the three passport offices. With the Saint-Jean and Canada Day holidays coming up, we know that many Quebeckers want to travel.
We have now changed our strategy to ensure that people receive the services and information they need. We will continue to respond to the situation to ensure that Canadians receive their passports.
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- Jun/22/22 3:13:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is extraordinarily important that we get the integrity of passports right. That is something that I have been communicating, and when someone is applying for a passport for the first time, it is one of the reasons that we ensure we are getting this right. When we are looking at children's passports, it is another reason that we want to make sure we have permission from both parents, and if there is a separation, that we go through the custody agreements, because at all costs, we must protect our children. That is exactly what we continue to do.
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- Jun/22/22 2:36:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I see that all the other parties in the House agree that the Bloc Québécois could never form the government here.
We will ensure that Canadians receive their passports. It is a difficult situation. After two years, we know that Canadians want to travel and that they need to get their passports. The demand is huge, and Service Canada employees are working extremely hard, day and night, to ensure that Canadians receive their passports. We will continue to take action to meet their needs.
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- Jun/22/22 2:34:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal is unacceptable. That is why we are changing things up as of today. We will ensure that people who are travelling in the next 24 hours receive their passports on time. For people who are travelling in more than 48 hours, we have another strategy.
Senior management is there to speak with those waiting in line, because what people are going through in Montreal is truly unacceptable. We will make sure they get served on time.
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- Jun/21/22 2:46:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand Canadians' frustration. We are doing our best to fix this situation.
I have to correct my hon. colleague. All the employees who work on passports at Service Canada are in the office, and have been for months. When he talks about public servants working from home, they are working. They are the same public servants who got the Canada recovery benefit out to Canadians. In all, nine million Canadians received benefits thanks to the hard-working employees of Service Canada.
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- Jun/21/22 2:45:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are currently triaging people in line because of the unprecedented volume to ensure that people do not miss their flights. We have ensured that, when people get to the passport office, they are receiving their passports. The member opposite can certainly work with my office to support that constituent. I have been pleased to work with many members opposite to support their constituents and make sure that they can get their passports on time. We will continue to support them and Canadians as we go through this surge in volume to support Canadians with their passports.
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- Jun/21/22 2:43:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned several times in the House, we are experiencing an unprecedented volume in terms of passport applications. We have, in fact, been planning for this surge and that is why 600 employees were hired since January. Another 600 are in the process of being hired. We are rearranging and reallocating resources within Service Canada and also within other government departments. We understand the situation. We understand the frustration of Canadians, and we will continue to do everything that we can to support Canadians in getting their passports in a timely fashion.
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- Jun/21/22 2:40:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I will tell my colleague that the instruction given to all Service Canada employees is that if passports are issued outside the standard service times, there is no additional charge. We will say it again. It is clear and the directive has been given across the country. We are going to make sure it is enforced on the ground.
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- Jun/16/22 2:59:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand Canadians' frustration, but the Conservatives misunderstand. They are not talking about the same people. Service Canada has nearly 30,000 employees nationwide and provides various services. The people meeting the needs with respect to passports, including the need for in‑person service at Service Canada, are already back at work.
It is a question of volume. We can process 2.5 million to five million passport applications in a year. We normally receive them over a period of 12 months. We are currently receiving that amount all at once. It is a question of volume, but we are responding and ensuring that Canadians receive their documents.
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- Jun/16/22 2:26:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the Bloc Québécois's interest in Canadian passports.
I understand that Canadians across the country are frustrated about the wait times for getting their passports. We understand that Canadians want to travel again, after following guidelines and staying home for two years.
Demand is very high, and we are responding. We have already hired 600 additional people and are hiring another 600. The offices are open, but demand is extremely high right now. We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of Canadians all across the country.
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- Jun/9/22 2:59:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained to this House before, we are experiencing unprecedented volumes when it comes to passports. It is important for us to share this information with Canadians so that they can plan accordingly. We know that this is frustrating and that this is stressful for them, but ensuring that we provide transparent information is important.
When it comes to international comparisons, when we look at countries like the U.S., the U.K. or Australia, we see that they are, on average, processing passports in between nine and 11 weeks. In Sweden there is a wait time of almost 27 weeks. This is something that is happening around the world, but we are putting additional resources in place to deal with it here in Canada.
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- Jun/7/22 2:30:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, those fees should not apply if the passport is not delivered within the normal 20-day period.
I will raise the matter with Service Canada again. I know Service Canada employees are working extremely hard, including evenings and weekends, to serve Canadians. They are there, and we will do everything in our power to make sure Canadians receive their passports before travelling.
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- Jun/6/22 2:57:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really reassuring to hear the Bloc talk about Canadian passports. We are in the process of hiring more employees. Since January, 600 employees have been hired. We are now hiring another 600, and 600 Service Canada employees are being redeployed to ensure that we can better respond to Canadians' needs.
We will continue to change the process because we know that it is important for all Canadians across the country to have access to their passports.
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- Jun/6/22 2:56:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
As we know, this is an unprecedented time, when many Canadians want to travel at the same time. Many passports expired over the past two years, and we are in the process of ensuring that Canadians can travel because we know that is what they want to do.
As I have already mentioned in the House, many offices across the country are open in the evening and on Saturdays. We are doing what we can to provide this service to Canadians.
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