Need help from fellow Canadians!

[Payd]

Well after the very rude conversation yesterday at Passport Canada, I did manage to find my Priority Post receipt for tracking purposes late last night after I got home from work (midnight). I called at 5:30 ESDT today and waitrd in the queue for another 25 minutes. I talked to a really polite lady, who actually seemed to have some sympathy for my plight. She checked the delivery date to their office using the tracking number and advised that today (April 24th) they were just starting to work on applications received on February 12th, so the February 14th batch would not be started until Friday or Monday. She suggested that they transfer our application to Calgary and took all the information. By 11:00 this morning I had a call from Passport Canada in Calgary. They said we could wait for the transfer but there was no way of knowing when it would actually arrive or we could start a whole new application and come to the Calgary office as soon as it is ready. So thanks to a system that obviously does not work, we will have to pay over $75.00 to get new birth certificates (thank goodness we were both born in Alberta), new photos, and have to track down our guarantor once again. She said she did not know how long it would take for them to be processed but said it shouldn't take more than 2 weeks max. I have heard it usually takes about a week, so I am hopeful. I just have to provide proof of travel, which hasn't arrived from the cruise company in Vancouver (group wedding trip booked by my son & his fiance) but I hope they accept the itinerary that was sent several months ago, as that is all I have right now. Oh, and we both have to take a day off of work too and still stand in line to be served in Calgary, but I understand that the lineups are only about 1.5 hours now instead of the 4-6 in February. We leave Medicine Hat for our cruise on May 18th and until those precious little blue books are in my hand I will continue to worry.

 

So, anyone who is even thinking of applying for a passport - do it well in advance (months if necessary). When we applied in early February it was only a 4-6 week wait, they have had it for 10 weeks and haven't even started.

 

The Calgary passport office said they currently have 300,000 passport applications to process and the mail just keeps bringing more every day. Now what was that saying "your failure to plan should not make a crisis for me" The Canadian Government certainly dropped the ball and have only recently started opening additional offices to accept applications to make sure that they are 100% accurate, but they are not processing them.

 

Good luck to everyone else who has to make an application.

 

I would suggest that you contact your MP's office and ask them to intervene on your behalf. It isn't a guarantee of help but the alternative of redoing all paperwork and going to the passport office in person twice...and the extra expense:eek: . Your MP is there to help...please ask him or her to do her job.

 

I really hope this works out for you!

 

Payd:)

[CruisinGrams]

I work in a municipality and asked the Mayor who knows our MP personally to make a call for me. He told he had already talked to him on more than one occasion for someone else (he signs a lot of passport applications) and was told to deal directly with Passport Canada. I have already taken new photos, paid for new birth certificates which should be here tomorrow (overnight courier) and I will have the applications signed on Thursday afternoon or Friday. It seems the ONLY way to get a passport quickly is to go to the office in Calgary or Edmonton and pay a $10.00 fee/per application to expedite the application. Sooo this means that everyone who wait to long gets to jump in line ahead of everyone else who thought ahead. There is an emergency application process for anyone who has not received their passport 5 days before travel, but I live 3 hours away from Calgary and could not just take time off work the week before I have to leave, so we paid the cash and hope to recieve our passports within 15 days (that is how long they tell you it takes for passport applications when you apply in person). I have to bring proof that we sent our passport applications in early (Priority Post tracking number) and also our travel itinerary to prove that we really need them urgently and then they will waive the $10.00 fee.

 

I plan on contacting my MP and giving him my bills. I would not have these extra costs + $100.00 for gas to get to Calgary and back + meals, blah, blah of the Canadian Government had done their jobs and prepared for this. I doubt I will get anything more than a polite letter written by his assistant saying how sorry he is.

 

As for all the lucky people in Ontario, you have far more places to put in your applications and more places that are processing applications. All the application forms that I have seen are for Gatineau. Maybe Ontario is used to handling larger volumes due to the huge population, but the problem seems real common out in the West which is why so many people drive for hours to stand in line for hours so that they done have to wait for months, and months.

 

If I don't get my passport I will not be able to attend my son's wedding - and if that happens I am phoning the Prime Minister, forget Monte Solberg our MP.

[CruisinGrams]

Well I decided the advice to contact my MP may be worth a try so I sent a lengthy email (as they are sitting in Parliament right now) and now I am hoping that someone from his office will actually read it and make a call to find the darn thing and get it processed and in the mail by Friday. I suppose this is unrealistic expectations but I only have 3 weeks to get it done. Thanks for all your suggestions and emotional support.

[Payd]

Well I decided the advice to contact my MP may be worth a try so I sent a lengthy email (as they are sitting in Parliament right now) and now I am hoping that someone from his office will actually read it and make a call to find the darn thing and get it processed and in the mail by Friday. I suppose this is unrealistic expectations but I only have 3 weeks to get it done. Thanks for all your suggestions and emotional support.

 

Hopefully the MP's office will come through. Did you mark your e-mail with a "read-receipt" so that you will know if it has been opened.

 

Monte Solberg has a constituency office in the Hat - go in person and talk to one of his secretaries. Much better than the drive to Calgary.

 

As the former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration surely he should be able to help!

 

Payd:)

[CruisinGrams]

I have yet to receive any response for Monte's office and I did not get a receipt for the email (but they may have it blocked). We have new applications ready and we leave for Calgary this weekend. If I were a betting woman, which I am not, I would bet that when they try to trace the status on Monday, that they are already being processed (Murphy's Law).

[mac4cruise]

Boy I'm must of been lucky I had to renew my passport for my cruise in Feb. I went to the passport office and gave them my application and they checked and then they sent to Ottawa and within 10 days I received my new passport in the mail.

[CruisinGrams]

Well we went to Passport Canada to day and found out why our application has not been dealt with. Anyone who personally goes to Passport Canada for their application automatically goes ahead of all the application send by mail. We got there early 1.25 hours before they opened and there were still about 50 people ahead of us. We waited for another half and hour before we got to see someone, which I thought was really fast. We explained our problem and she checked to see if our application was being processing but still nothing. So she went through both applications entering all the data into the computer. Then she said it would take 14 days before we could pick it up. We explained that we just didn't have the luxury of another 14 days that we need it much sooner than that. So they are going to print them out in Calgary and my father will pick them up for us on May 9th, and then put them into an overnight (registered) express post to us, which we already prepaid. We just can't take anymore days off to go to Calgary to pick up the forms so this should work perfectly. So for anyone who wants them fast, take a day off and go to Calgary. The processing is 14-15 days and then they send them registered mail to your home. Anyone who is afraid that they won't be recieved in time, go to the Passport Canada Office immediately, don't delay.

 

And in five more years we are going to be going through this all again for renewals. :o

 

As for my MP no contact from his office yet so I am sure that he is just too busy right now to help us out. Good thing we weren't waiting for an answer from him.

[earl_m]

Glad that you got your passport finally, enjoy your cruise

[Soccerfan]

Well we went to Passport Canada to day and found out why our application has not been dealt with. Anyone who personally goes to Passport Canada for their application automatically goes ahead of all the application send by mail. We got there early 1.25 hours before they opened and there were still about 50 people ahead of us. We waited for another half and hour before we got to see someone, which I thought was really fast. We explained our problem and she checked to see if our application was being processing but still nothing. So she went through both applications entering all the data into the computer. Then she said it would take 14 days before we could pick it up. We explained that we just didn't have the luxury of another 14 days that we need it much sooner than that. So they are going to print them out in Calgary and my father will pick them up for us on May 9th, and then put them into an overnight (registered) express post to us, which we already prepaid. We just can't take anymore days off to go to Calgary to pick up the forms so this should work perfectly. So for anyone who wants them fast, take a day off and go to Calgary. The processing is 14-15 days and then they send them registered mail to your home. Anyone who is afraid that they won't be recieved in time, go to the Passport Canada Office immediately, don't delay.

 

And in five more years we are going to be going through this all again for renewals. :o

 

As for my MP no contact from his office yet so I am sure that he is just too busy right now to help us out. Good thing we weren't waiting for an answer from him.

 

Your right, we do have a lot of passport offices to chose from. We have 3 less than 45 drive from our home. Unfortunately, we still have the same mess to deal with as you do :(

 

On the bright side, you can put it all behind you now, breath a sigh of relief and get on with enjoying your holiday. :D

 

Sounds like you'll need a holiday to deal with the stress you've had :)

 

Have a great trip !