News Release — Improving passport services for Canadians

Ottawa, May 8, 2013 — Plans to expand passport services and make them more convenient and efficient were announced today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley.

Effective July 2, primary responsibility for Passport Canada will move from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This sensible move is in line with the duties CIC already performs, such as determining Canadian citizenship.

Bearing in mind the various threads on the forum from people waiting years and months for visas etc to be processed by CIC. Is passing passport services to CIC, I can not possibly see how this could go wrong?

Anyone waiting for their passport back, dont worry it will be in the post sometime next year

Passport Canada (unlike CIC) is/was quite efficient. I can't see the point of messing with it.

Im sure someone in the private sector will do it for cheaper

That was what I was thinking, after all if CIC can not cope with its current work load how will they manage with the etc work?

Now there's a thought. Let's privatize CIC and be done with all this pointless bureaucracy. They could just give PR to the highest bidders.

It couldn't possibly get any worse if it was privatised?

By rationalization and staffing cuts. Obviously.

Actually I would love to see them do it as a trial so to speak. I wonder what the cost of applications would be and what they would pay their workers etc etc.

You don't think so?

Having had first hand knowledge of private sector healthcare services and first hand knowledge of the over spending and mismanagement of the NHS, I would assume privatising could be a good thing

Oh, you would? <thread drift alert>

Thread drift

Not really just pondering FL's suggestion of privatisation

Im wondering how this will work?
CIC have already closed their offices in Canada to walk in clients they now have to make appointments which can take 3 weeks or more.
So will we all now have to apply online to be issued or renew a passport?
If they use the software they have implemented for IEC applicants then we are truly ****ed.
Mines due for renewal in 2015 Id better apply now.

Actually, before we go too far down this track, there's been no suggestion that I'm aware of that Passport Canada offices would stop operating as before. I just can't see the point of changing the oversight to CIC.

It's old "if it aint broke why fix it" principle. Seems daft to change something that works fine where it is