Wait times for passport services shrinking at Hamilton locations

Wait times outside Hamilton passport offices have gradually reduced over the past number of weeks.

Now, people are looking at wait times ranging from 15 minutes to three hours on average at both Hamilton locations - Hamilton East on Queenston Road and Hamilton Main on Upper James Street.

The wait time at the Hamilton East location was 15 minutes Tuesday at noon, while the Upper James location had a wait of three hours.

This is in contrast to three-to-five-hour waits and long lineups in mid-June, according to the tracking tool updated three times a day.

The changes follow action taken by Service Canada in response to the unprecedented demand for passport services as pandemic-related restrictions began lifting earlier this year.

Service Canada put in place a more intensive, client-specific" approach last month to tackle long processing times, and expedite applications of those travelling within 48 hours or less, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said in a July release.

As a result, anyone travelling within two business days can walk into the Upper James location, which also offers urgent pickup services. The Hamilton East office is the only location in Canada not currently offering pickup service.

Those travelling within 45 business days should also visit a passport office with proof of travel, but locations implementing an enhanced triage system" will ensure people with the most urgent travel can get their passports as quickly as possible," said Service Canada in a Q&A.

If the travel isn't urgent, you can apply via mail, which takes about 10 weeks. It used to take 20 days during the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The federal agency expects the backlog to drop significantly by the end of the summer," Gould said.

Service Canada has also set up a new website, tracking weekly progress. According to the website, 51,418 passports were issued to Canadians between July 18 and 24, while staff worked more than 7,800 hours of overtime. Service Canada also hired 114 additional employees.

Between April and June 1, Service Canada received over 800,000 passport applications, compared to 166,000 in the 2019 pre-pandemic year. The agency expects 4.3 million applications for the current fiscal year, up from 2.4 million.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com