Question Period Note: PASSPORT SERVICE DELIVERY UPDATE

• Provide an all-around update on passport service delivery to Canadians.

• Service Canada is committed to delivering timely passport services to Canadians, with over 3.3 million passports issued as of December 8, 2024. Modernization efforts, such as new online applications and enhanced processing, are underway to address increased demand.

• Despite challenges including higher-than-expected volumes and system transitions, we continue to implement strategies, including expanded service access and targeted hiring, to improve service delivery and reduce wait times. We remain focused on enhancing the client experience and meeting service standards.

• Service Canada remains committed to ensuring the implementation of programs, benefits and services to which clients are entitled. Providing in-person access to vulnerable populations and underserved communities is a priority for the Government of Canada. Various service delivery options continue to be explored to improve their access, primarily for rural and remote areas.

• In total, 96% of Canadians have access to a Service Canada point of service within a 50-kilometre radius. They have access to a range of options for passport service, which ensures timely delivery that meets their expectations.

The Passport Program is essential for providing Canadian citizens with travel and identity documents. ESDC/Service Canada handles the domestic service delivery on behalf of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), ensuring that passport applications are processed efficiently and meet established service standards.

The service standards require processing 90% of complete applications within specific timelines: 10 business days for in-person applications at specialized passport offices or Service Canada Centres offering expedited services, and 20 business days for applications received by mail or at standard Service Canada Centres. These standards have been in place since their implementation in July 2013.

Recent years have seen an increase in passport applications, driven by factors such as the onset of 10-year renewal cycles. This has led to significant operational demands and challenges, including higher application volumes and system transitions. Despite these challenges, ESDC/Service Canada has embarked on modernization efforts to enhance processing capabilities, expand service access, and improve overall client experience.

Current performance metrics indicate a temporary decline in meeting service standards due to the increased volume of applications and operational disruptions. Ongoing recovery efforts and process improvements are being implemented to address these issues and ensure that service delivery aligns with the established targets.

The current context of the postal strike has a significant impact on Service Canada's ability to deliver passports to Canadians. Several solutions are available, including in-person pickup options and alternative courier services. However, delays are expected when postal services resume as the program begins the winter peak period.

IF PRESSED ON SERVICE STANDARDS:

Performance Targets and Service Standards

• The Passport Program aims to process 90% of complete applications within the published service standards:
o 10 business days for in-person applications at a specialized passport office or a Service Canada Centre offering expedited services.
o 20 business days for applications received by mail or in person at a Service Canada Centre.

• The Passport Program service standards apply only to properly completed applications. They do not include time required for postal delivery, and additional verifications. The standards for all Passport Program services were implemented in July 2013, unless otherwise stated.

Performance Overview

• 2022-2023: 70% of applications met the service standards, below the 90% target.

• 2023-2024: 92% of applications met the service standards, surpassing the 90% target.

• So far this fiscal year, as of December 8, 2024: Service Canada received more than 3.6 million applications (up from 3 million in 2023 and 2.2 million in 2022) and issued more than 3.3 million passports (compared to almost 2.9M in 2023, and over 2M in 2022), of which 73% of applications met the 10- or 20-business day service standards (the target is 90%).

Pre Postal Strike Performance (Weekly results as of November 17, 2024)

• Weekly results as of November 17, 2024, 81% of applicants received their passport within the service standard, compared to 99% in 2023 and 73% in 2022.
o In-person applications: 91% of Canadians who applied in-person at a specialized passport office received their passports within 10 business days compared to 99% in 2023, and 98% in 2022, for the same period.
o Mail/SCC applications: 73% of Canadians who applied by mail or at a Service Canada Centre received their passports within the 20-day service standard compared to 99% in 2023, and 61% in 2022, for the same period.

Recent Performance (Weekly results as of December 8, 2024)

• Weekly results as of December 8, 2024, 83% of passport applications have been processed within the service standard, compared to 96% in 2023 and 78% in 2022.
o In-person applications:87% of applications from Canadians who applied in-person at a specialized passport office have been processed within 10 business days compared to 96% in 2023, and 98% in 2022, for the same period.
o Mail/SCC applications: 76% of applications from Canadians who applied by mail or at a Service Canada Centre have been processed within the 20-day service standard compared to 95% in 2023, and 66% in 2022, for the same period.

Pre Postal Strike 20 days standard by channel (Weekly results – as of November 17, 2024):
• 60% of Canadians who applied by mail received their passports within the 20-day service standard compared to 98% in 2023, and 77% in 2022, for the same period.

• 80% of Canadians who applied at a Service Canada Centre received their passports within the 20-day service standard compared to 99% in 2023, and 57% in 2022, for the same period.

20 days standard by channel (Weekly results – as of December 8, 2024):

• 70% of application from Canadians who applied by mail have been processed within the 20-day service standard compared to 95% in 2023, and 67% in 2022, for the same period.

• 77% of applications from Canadians who applied at a Service Canada Centre have been processed within the 20-day service standard compared to 95% in 2023, and 65% in 2022, for the same period.

How processing times are calculated:

• Service standards reflect the program’s commitment under normal circumstances.

• Processing times are the actual times taken, influenced by internal and external factors.

• Mailing times and additional verifications/security checks are not included in processing time calculations.

• A small number of cases may take longer due to additional verifications or security checks which do not count towards the processing time.

Service standards and processing times increase:

• Higher-than-expected intake since early 2024 and system outages in February, March, and throughout the summer months contributed to reduced service standards.

• ESDC/Service Canada is striving to reduce the impact to clients and ensure that all clients with imminent travel needs receive their passport on time.

• The decline in service standards is expected to be temporary as ongoing recovery efforts address "out of standard" inventory and intake volumes decrease.

• While the postal strike is impacting the ability to deliver passports to Canadians, it is important to note that the operations of receiving, processing and printing applications continue. Service Canada remains committed to meeting service standards.

Passport Volumes:

• 2023-2024 Fiscal Year: ESDC/Service Canada anticipated receiving between 4.3 and 4.7 million passport applications. The actual number received was over 4.8 million, which is about 100,000 above the forecast limit. During this period, Service Canada issued over 4.4 million passports.

• Forecast for 2024-2025 Fiscal Year: ESDC/Service Canada projects receiving between 5.2 and 5.7 million passport applications.

• Current Issuance Data: As of December 8, 2024, approximately 3.3 million passports have been issued.

Service Options for Canadians:

• Clients can access passport services at one of Service Canada’s 583 points of service. 10-day service is offered in 60 sites and 20-day service is offered in 293 Service Canada Centres and 247 Scheduled Outreach locations.

• Clients can check approximate wait times for Service Canada’s passport offices and Service Canada Centres that offer expedited services on Find a Service Canada Office webpage to help prepare for their visit.

• Clients have the option of booking an appointment for passport services using the eServiceCanada portal.

• Clients who applied for a passport in Canada or by mail from the US can track the status of their application anytime and from anywhere on the Passport Application Status Checker.

Status Checker Results:
• Canadians have been using the Passport Application Status Checker for updates on their applications since the launch in March 2023.

• For the last fiscal year 2023-2024, there were over 4.4M visits to the Passport Application Status Checker and, so far, this fiscal year, as of December 8, 2024, there have been almost 5.8M visits for the current fiscal year.

• Of these visits, for fiscal year 2023-2024, more than 3M requests for passport status searches were received by over 538K unique clients, with 76% receiving a successful status check.

• For the current fiscal year 2024-25 (as of December 8, 2024), more than 4.3M requests for passport status searches were received by almost 720,000 unique clients, with 83% being successful.

• A client may not be successful, if;
o They do not have a File Number and did not include their email address on their application.
o They submitted their application within the last 5 days in person or 10 days by mail, as it may take time to receive the application and create the record in the system.
o The application is an excluded file type such as a diplomatic or special passport, a certified true copy, a certificate of Identity and Refugee Travel document, as well as all applications submitted at a Canadian mission abroad.
o They entered information into the checker that does not match their application.
Overtime:

• The Passport Program has always had a need to use overtime to manage the program. This occurs for situations such as weekend duty to provide clients with passports needed urgently, as well as to manage peaks in volumes.

• More recently, ESDC/Service Canada has been relying heavily on overtime to recover from higher than forecasted volumes and system outages that occurred earlier in the year.

• Service Canada employees provided increased capacity since the beginning of fiscal year 2024-2025. There have been 246,000 hours of overtime worked by employees – a necessary mitigation strategy to handle the higher volumes.

• Overtime continues to be a tool in the toolkit that is being leveraged to support on areas experiencing higher volumes or other impacts.

Line-Ups and Wait Times:

• Service Canada Centres and Passport Offices experience seasonal peaks throughout the year.

• Sites that see longer lineups implement an Integrated Client Experience Strategy that ensures consistent line management practices, including:
o Triaging clients in line based on travel need and/or appointment.
o Offering extended hours of service and week-end appointments.
o Promoting alternative service options (e.g., 20 business-day service at nearby Service Canada Centres).

• Pre Postal Strike weekly results as of November 17, 2024:
o Average wait time at in-person service points offering 10-day service: 1 hour -6 minutes.
o Average wait time on the phone: 6 minutes 58 seconds.

• Weekly results as of December 8, 2024:
o Average wait time at in-person service points offering 10-day service: 1 hour 7 minutes.
o Average wait time on the phone: 33 minutes 17 seconds.

2022 Application Surge:

• At the end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the backlog was eliminated, and the Passport Program was processing applications within service standard 99% of the time. More specifically, 99% of passports, regardless of intake channel, were processed within the 10- and 20-business days service standard.

• In response to the 2022 passport surge, Service Canada introduced a variety of new measures to improve passport service delivery and decrease wait times for Canadians.

System Outages:

• Service Canada continued to experience system outages that impacted the intake, processing, and print systems. These outages had negative effect on the overall program and impacted performance which resulted in fewer passports being issued to clients. It also impacted the age of the existing inventory resulting in less time to do the necessary work for data entry, and examine, print and issue the passport.

• The cumulative effect of these outages has been an increase in the overall inventory including the out of standard inventory, slippage on service standards, and increased processing times – which have a direct impact on Passport clients.

• ESDC/Service Canada remains very engaged with IRCC on these outages. Dedicated resources and efforts to identify and fix network and system issues have lately highly improved the passport service environment stability.

• In addition, Service Canada implemented various measures to minimize the impacts to clients and to recover from the outages including onboarding more resources. These efforts led to more sustainable inventory allowing for significant improvement in the service standard results.

Challenges and Mitigations:

• Increased Volumes: IRCC provided updated forecasting for fiscal year 2024-2025 resulting in an overall annual increase in applications of approximately 320K. ESDC/Service Canada is deploying national workload management strategies and internal governance to monitor and adjust service delivery including temporary hiring and leveraging overtime strategically.

• System Stability: The transition to a new system has involved a stabilization phase, which may include outages. In collaboration with IRCC, we are actively addressing these challenges through ongoing mitigation efforts to ensure stable and efficient operations.

• Seasonal Peaks: Seasonal peaks occur around common travel times, resulting in longer lineups. Integrated Client Experience Strategies are in place, including triaging clients based on travel need and/or appointment, offering extended hours of service and week-end appointments, promoting alternative service options (e.g. 20 business day service at nearby Service Canada Centres).

• Discrepancies in Passport Pick-Up Dates:
o As has always been the situation in the Passport program, ESDC/Service Canada strives to produce the passport within the applicable service standards. Service standards and processing times are only calculated on files while they are in ESDC/Service Canada’s possession. They do not include time required for postal delivery, and additional verifications.
o There may be instances where a client returns to an office to collect their passport, and it may not be available.
o These instances are linked to exceptional circumstances such as system or hardware outages which can prevent processing and printing.
o During and after outages, offices will apply measures to recover the lost processing and printing time, including the use of overtime, when and where necessary.
o When feasible, offices will attempt to contact the client before they come to the office and in urgent situations, the printing may be redirected to another local office.
o In some instances, the passport remains with ESDC/Service Canada beyond the prescribed service standard (e.g. when the client does not pick up the passport on time). When this situation occurs, the file continues to age until the client picks up the book, or the file is sent to IRCC for safekeeping as per procedure. In such cases, service standards and processing times are calculated based on when ESDC/Service Canada had the book ready, not when it left our possession. There is no impact on the client in these situations.

Modernization and Service Expansion:

• In collaboration with IRCC, ESDC/Service Canada is enhancing the client experience through several modernization initiatives. These include improved automation of the application process, the introduction of a new online passport application system, and the installation of new passport printers.

• To expand access, 24 additional Service Canada Centres now offer expedited 10-day service since August 2022. A total of 60 locations across Canada now offer 10-day passport processing service. Passport services have also been extended to most scheduled outreach sites and passport clinics, benefiting rural and remote communities.

• A new passport with advanced security features has been in circulation since June 2023. Future enhancements include piloting an online renewal application, led by IRCC, which will feature secure fee payment and photo upload capabilities.

• Additional client tools have been introduced, such as an appointment booking system to direct clients to appropriate locations, online wait time estimates for select sites, and the Passport Application Status Checker, launched in March 2023, which allows Canadians to track their applications.

Adding 10 business days service at Service Canada Centres

• Service Canada continually assesses the needs of its clients and communities to ensure that its services meet their demands and remain responsive to their needs. Criteria such as access, continuity of services, reach, population, and anticipated application volumes are used in the assessment of client needs.

• Service Canada recently expanded 10 business day pickup service at Service Canada Centres in Yellowknife and Iqaluit. These two territories were the only Canadian provinces and territories without 10 business days service. This expansion brings to 24 the total number of sites to which Service Canada added this service in the last 24 months.

• For citizens of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, all Service Canada Centres in the region offer service in 20 business days with postal delivery.

• Other options are available to them if they need faster service by going to an office in the Laurentides region, or the Montreal or Gatineau areas. As well, citizens can go to the Service Canada Centre in Timmins (about 200 kilometers away), which offers a bilingual passport service in 10 business days.

Postal Strike

• During the ongoing postal disruption, the Government of Canada understands that Canadians may be concerned about how to get their passports in a timely and convenient way. Service Canada is hard at work processing passport applications and is ready to help those who need urgent service or have questions about their passport application.

• In early November, in consideration of a potential postal disruption, Service Canada put a temporary hold on mailing out passport packages after November 8, 2024. By holding residential mail several days in advance of a work stoppage, Service Canada has reduced the risk of having any passports held in Canada Post distribution centres. Those passports will be mailed out once the postal disruption is over and regular mail service resumes

• Clients who require their passport imminently can call and request their passport be transferred to one of the 60 Service Canada locations that offer pick up service. As of December 6, 2024, approximately 215,000 passports that were printed and ready to be mailed are being held by Service Canada.

• Service Canada continues to work with partners, including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to implement solutions to deliver passports to Canadians, including working with alternate courier such as Purolator.