21 July 2008

New rules to spur rush for passports

The following article is excerpted from the 21 July 2008 edition of the “Toronto Star”.

The federal government is predicting a record surge in passport applications over the next year as Canadians get ready for tougher U.S. border rules.

Passport Canada is bracing for 5.2 million passport applications for the year, ending March 31, 2009, a jump of 10 per cent over the previous fiscal year when a record high number of passports was issued, an internal document shows.

The projection is based on a revamped formula that takes into account so-called "pulses," or changes in demand driven by significant events, such as the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

The initiative requires Canadians to present passports when travelling in the United States. Previously, Canadians could show birth certificates and other documents but, as of January, last year, you needed a passport to travel by air.

Travellers by land and water will need passports as of June 1 next year, a requirement expected to drive Passport Canada applications to record levels because most Canadians travel to the U.S. by car.

The agency has been caught flat-footed in the past, with faulty projections resulting in long lineups and wait times – and panicky travellers….

In the year that ended March 31, 2008, the agency issued 4.8 million passports, a whopping 32 per cent more than the year before.

Once the impact of phase 2 of the initiative passes, application levels are projected to drop significantly below five million for the following three years, says a June 2008 forecast obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act….

A January survey of 4,000 Canadians found that one in every two people without a passport planned to apply for one over the following 12 months….

The new document, in the works for several years, will look similar to the current blue booklet, but a tamper-resistant microchip embedded in it will hold personal data.

It's not clear how the new passport, to be issued in 2011, will affect workloads at Passport Canada….