Passport delays spur some Canadians to game the system with fake travel plans
CBC
Canadians are getting creative trying to cut the long waits for passports that have been dragging on for close to five months after a surge in post-pandemic travel demand overwhelmed the system.
By Aug. 11, a total of 1,092,560 passport applications had been filed this year – with more than 550,000 of those applications flooding in since April.
Service Canada said it's prioritizing the applications of people traveling imminently, increasing staff and processing sites.
Despite all this, applicants say they are spending thousands of dollars to travel to less-busy passport offices — or even faking travel plans to speed the process to beat the 340,000-application backlog.
Federal officials say they are working to fix the problem.
Karina Gould, the minister responsible for passport services, said Canadians are getting their passports on time, and there's no need to "fake" travel — booking a flight you do not plan to take — to be eligible for Passport Canada's urgent 48-hour approval mechanism.
"That impacts the whole system. There are a lot of people who did the right thing. They sent off their passports well in advance. Their applications are impacted by anyone who books fake travel," Gould told CBC in a phone interview on Friday.
She had heard of the practice, but doubts it is widespread.
"I would be very disappointed to hear that, because that would be putting additional pressure on a system that is already pressured," said Gould.
Meanwhile in Toronto, a man who CBC agreed to call Robert, said he has spent the past 59 days organizing 10 staffers to hold spots in lineups for about 500 absent passport applicants.
He said he has earned up to $1,000 per day offering this service.
"Most of my customers book fake flights just to get their passports so they can drive across [the border]," said Robert.
"You're going through more hoops to drive across [the border] than to fly. So what they do is just book a fake flight. It's usually Toronto to New York or Toronto to Miami, and within 24 hours, they cancel it," he said of his customers.
Multiple travel agents and Air Canada confirmed that many flights can be booked online without a passport number, and full-fare or business class ticket is often refundable.
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