Close X
Thursday, October 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Expect long passport lineups this week, post-strike immigration backlog: ministers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 May, 2023 10:17 AM
  • Expect long passport lineups this week, post-strike immigration backlog: ministers

OTTAWA — A federal minister is advising Canadians to expect long lines at passport offices this week as the public service resumes work following a 12-day strike.

Families minister Karina Gould says the job action did not create a significant backlog, as the federal government received only about 20 per cent of the typical volume of passport applications during the strike.

Gould says a higher volume of applications is expected this week as a result, but is reassuring Canadians that those with urgent travel will be prioritized.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says about 100,000 decisions regarding immigration files were not processed during the strike.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has been catching up in recent months from significant backlogs created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fraser said the recent strike means it will take longer to get back to pre-pandemic service standards, but he expects the department to have an easier time getting through the backlog thanks to recent changes that have boosted productivity in the workforce.

The country's largest federal public-sector union announced early Monday morning it had reached deals with the government covering more than 120,000 public servants across the country and bringing them back to work.

Talks have resumed between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, as some 35,000 CRA employees continue to walk the picket line.

A spokesman for the union said talks are ongoing after continuing late into Monday night.

MORE National ARTICLES

New deal would give B.C. family doctors pay raise

New deal would give B.C. family doctors pay raise
Currently, family doctors are paid through a fee-for-service model and the government said the new plan will also pay them for hours worked, administrative costs, and the number and complexity of patients. Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of BC, said the deal represents a "seismic shift" in the way family medicine is practised in the province.

New deal would give B.C. family doctors pay raise

Vancouver Police investigating after five people stabbed in less than an hour early Sunday morning

Vancouver Police investigating after five people stabbed in less than an hour early Sunday morning
VPD officers responded to a triple stabbing at a bar near Oak Street and West Broadway around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, after a confrontation between two groups left three men seriously injured. The victims, all men in their 20s from White Rock, were in Vancouver for a birthday celebration.

Vancouver Police investigating after five people stabbed in less than an hour early Sunday morning

Canadians cut coupons as food prices surge: survey

Canadians cut coupons as food prices surge: survey
The majority of respondents in a Canada-wide survey released Monday said they are using coupons or hunting for sales to cope with increasing food costs. Nearly 20 per cent were also reducing meal sizes or skipping meals altogether in order to save money.

Canadians cut coupons as food prices surge: survey

Horgan 'gained by listening' but fuse burns bright

Horgan 'gained by listening' but fuse burns bright
Horgan, 63, who has twice battled cancer, said last summer that health reasons were forcing him to retire after five years as premier, eight years as NDP leader and five terms as a member of the legislature. He leaves office as one of B.C.'s most popular premiers, whom pollsters consistently rank as one of the most popular leaders in Canada.

Horgan 'gained by listening' but fuse burns bright

Trial for B.C. mayor charged with public mischief

Trial for B.C. mayor charged with public mischief
McCallum ran his campaign against the backdrop of the charge laid last December, four months after he complained to the RCMP that a woman collecting signatures to keep the Mounties in Surrey ran over his foot outside a grocery store.

Trial for B.C. mayor charged with public mischief

NTSB seeks inspection of Canadian-made plane

NTSB seeks inspection of Canadian-made plane
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent safety recommendation Thursday, calling on Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to require immediate inspections of De Havilland Canada DHC-3 airplanes, better known as the DHC-3 Otter.

NTSB seeks inspection of Canadian-made plane