Canadians who need their travel documents renewed before visiting far-off shores will soon be able to skip the line at the passport office, the immigration minister announced Wednesday.
Starting in the fall, Canadians with simple passport renewals will be able to apply online and upload the necessary documents and passport photo on a secure government website, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said.
He made the announcement at an event to unveil a new design for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 passport, which includes updated security features and colourful new pages B次元官网网址� and removes some references to key moments in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 history.
B次元官网网址淭he federal government is going to continue to work to improve our services and security for Canadians. This passport update is one of the many efforts that is going to improve travel and security,B次元官网网址� Fraser said at a press conference at the Ottawa International Airport.
Those applying for new passports, including children, will still need to go through the traditional application process with Service Canada.
The digital option is a result of the lessons learned last year when the department was swamped with passport applications, which led to long lines and even longer waits for people to get their documents, Social Development Minister Karina Gould said.
B次元官网网址淔or people who are just doing a simple renewal of a valid passport, it will be a lot quicker and easier to process as well, because we already have that data in the system,B次元官网网址� she said at the press conference.
Her department recently got back on top of a large passport backlog after pandemic travel restrictions ended and the passport office was flooded with applications.
During the recent public-service strike, the government urged people to hold off on passport applications. Gould warned that longer lines could ensue once workers were back in place, due to the pent-up demand B次元官网网址� but she said that hasnB次元官网网址檛 happened yet.
The vast majority of applications the government receives are for new passports, but the minister said she expects a surge in passport renewals over the next year, as the first 10-year passports issued in 2013 are set to expire.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e already started to see that in terms of the applications coming in,B次元官网网址� she said.
ItB次元官网网址檚 impossible for people to know when they apply whether they will get the current version of the passport or the new one, Gould said.
Production is expected to begin on the newly designed passport this summer. In the meantime, people will continue to receive the current version of the passport and can continue to use it until it expires.
The travel document design was refreshed as part of a routine effort to update the Canadian passport every 10 years.
The last time the passport was updated in 2013, the pages were designed to feature historical images of the Fathers of Confederation, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Terry Fox on his Marathon of Hope.
The new designs are more colourful and generic, replacing eminent Canadians with faceless figures working and playing in natural Canadian landscapes.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre denounced the new designs in the House of Commons Wednesday, and charged the Liberals with attempting to erase essential Canadian history.
B次元官网网址淲hy will the prime minister not stand up for our history, get connected to reality and keep the images in our passport that make us so proud to be Canadian?B次元官网网址� Poilievre asked during question period.
The Royal Canadian Legion also expressed disappointment that images of the Vimy memorial are not featured in the new design.
B次元官网网址淩emoving that image in the context of a design change and without knowing the rationale was, to put it bluntly, a poor decision,B次元官网网址� the legion said in a statement.
Fraser said the government consulted with several groups on the new design, which reinforced the need to reflect CanadaB次元官网网址檚 natural environments and diversity, B次元官网网址渞ather than historical artifacts or symbols that weB次元官网网址檙e still very proud of.B次元官网网址�
It was also important to change up the design as a security measure, he said.
B次元官网网址淚f you maintain elements that may have existed in the previous design, it becomes easier to counterfeit the Canadian passport, which is something we want to protect against,B次元官网网址� he said.
The cover of the new passports will still feature the Canadian coat of arms, but will also include a large maple leaf.
Along with new graphic designs on the cover and inside pages, the updated passport will feature a polycarbonate page B次元官网网址� similar to a driverB次元官网网址檚 licence B次元官网网址� and other new security features.
B次元官网网址淧assport holdersB次元官网网址� personal information will now be laser engraved, instead of being printed with ink, which is going to make the data page more durable and resistant to tampering and counterfeiting,B次元官网网址� Fraser said.
The new passport will also feature a see-through window with a second image of the passport holder, an additional laser image and temperature-sensitive ink.
B次元官网网址擫aura Osman, The Canadian Press
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