Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - March 2007
Ottawa reviewing which professions can act as guarantor of your identity in passport applications
Passport Canada says it is reviewing the guarantor process and intends to make changes in the near future to reduce confusion. While the need for a guarantor will still be required, agency spokesperson Francine Charbonneau explained that �the actual description of the guarantor" might change.
Guarantors are an essential element of the passport process in Canada as they are meant to be highly recognizable people in the community who know you and can be easily reached by Passport Canada, the agency in charge, using lists of their professional associations.
Reasons that promoted the motion to change the description of a guarantor stems from the fact that the policies governing which groups are eligible and not are rather complicated, and, according to some, arbitrary. No changes have been made as of yet.
The reasons for change also stem from the experiences of recent immigrants for whom the process is particularly problematic. Often recently landed immigrants will not have known a guarantor for the minimum two years.
While most Canadians are generally satisfied with the passport services, the agency's published consumer surveys states that satisfaction has dropped recently. As agents are becoming more tough when it comes to supporting documents, many Canadians are encountering obstacles if their supporting documents are not in good condition. This is particularly the case for some older Canadians whose documents may not be in the best conditions.
Another reason for the decrease in satisfaction with passport services is the major delays Canadians are encountering with passport applications following the new U.S. requirements for passports for all passengers traveling by air. Passport offices are being bombarded with 20,000 applications a day, compared to 13,000 previously on a normal "busy" day. What once took a few weeks to process may now take two months � not including time in the mail. Auditor-General Sheila Fraser last month took a swipe at Passport Canada for not having contingency plans in place to deal with the flood of new applications � even though it had expected the deluge.
Source:
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/188007
