François Gamache knew that getting his passport in Montreal would be almost impossible.
He went to Chicoutimi, 200 miles north of Quebec City, on the advice of a Transportation Canada agent, where he waited 30 hours. No luck.
He then decided to drive to downtown New Brunswick, where he eventually got a passport to Fredericton after waiting just three hours.
A passport crisis is sweeping several Service Canada offices across the country, especially in Quebec, where people have been forced to wait hours without obtaining the essential travel document. In Montreal, police monitor the queue at a center.
Gamache is due to leave on Thursday for a three-week trip to France to bury his father-in-law. Like thousands of Canadians, he could not leave the country without renewing that passport.
The process of
On Saturday, he contacted a Transport Canada official for instructions on how to obtain a passport.
“He told me that in Montreal it was almost impossible for my file to be processed in a week,” he told Radio-Canada in French.
Then the agent suggested he try Chicoutimi, so he hit the road and reached the community Sunday night.
Arriving at Service Canada on Monday at 6 a.m., he quickly realized that he had been given the wrong information. He found that passports for travelers leaving the country within 48 hours would have priority.
However, just five days before his trip abroad, he decided to take a risk and stay in Chicoutimi, waiting for his turn.
30 hours later
After spending hours in the waiting room, Gamache went to a hotel in the evening to take a nap.
Early Tuesday morning, he re-entered the waiting room and was greeted by an unfriendly environment, he said.
“In Chicoutimi they made us feel really bad because we came from Montreal, but at the same time, they told me that in Montreal they wouldn’t process my file … I’m a Canadian citizen, I pay taxes, so I have to feel bad going? ”
Gamache and the others in the waiting room were also greeted with an announcement from an on-site agent that destroyed any hope.
“Even tomorrow … we will not be able to process them, we advise you [cancel] your journey, ”the agent said.
Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, is responsible for the passport file. (Justin Tang / Canadian Press)
“People were in tears. It was panic,” Gamache said.
One of his clients suggested by remote communication that he apply for his passport in Fredericton, a nearly 800-mile journey.
“[He] he told me he had felt that in New Brunswick he could be prosecuted. “
After waiting 30 hours in Chicoutimi, Gamache decided to get behind the wheel again and find out if the neighboring province would be better.
After a night of sleep in Temiscouata to regain strength, Gamache arrived at the Fredericton Passport Office on Wednesday morning.
The waiting room seemed empty.
“It’s like being in another country … The security guards were very kind,” he said. “It’s like exceptional customer service versus being treated like cattle in Chicoutimi.”
He said he waited three hours before receiving the passport.
“I was very exhausted and even very excited. I struggled a lot to get it … My trip is definitely saved.”
Gamache estimated he spent about $ 1,000 on hotel, food and gasoline during that trip.
As a business owner, he was able to manage his communication with his laptop during all this misfortune, but not everyone is so lucky, he said.
A national crisis
Gamache isn’t the only one who has recently faced a bureaucratic maze to get his passport.
With health restrictions lifted and the summer season underway, there are large congestion in Service Canada offices.
Last week, Karina Gould, the federal Minister for Families, Children and Social Development, said 1,200 employees had been hired or were in the process of being hired to handle the large number of applications growing in the offices of Service Canada.
He said there will be no compensation for travelers forced to cancel their plans.
There was also talk of the loan of about 200 employees of the Tax Agency of Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Global Affairs Canada.
Gamache criticized how the Canada Service has handled things, saying the passport problem was predictable.
“The Trudeau government is well aware that Service Canada has been doing its best for years,” he said. “In the end, it was logical that this crisis was going to happen, it was predictable.”