Tens of thousands of passports are being held by Service Canada as the Canada Post strike approaches the one-week mark — leaving some would-be travellers unable to access critical documentation until the labour dispute is resolved.
Jack Li, a permanent resident in Canada, recently applied to have a U.S. work visa added to his Chinese passport, as he frequently travels south of the border for work.
He received a notice that his passport would be ready to be picked up at a Canada Post office Thursday night — just as Canada Post workers made it official they’d be trading delivery routes for picket lines.
Li has confirmed his document is at a post office location but has no way of accessing it as long as postal workers remain on strike.
“This is basically the key document that is impacting my life,” said Li, who has had to cancel travel to the U.S. for work.
85,000 Canadian passports held
Canada Post stopped delivering mail across the country on Nov. 15 when tens of thousands of postal workers went on strike over wages, working conditions and other issues.
Service Canada said it has been holding off on mailing out 85,000 passports due to the labour dispute.
Employment and Social Development Canada said that “in anticipation of a potential labour disruption,” Service Canada stopped mailing passport packages on Nov. 8 — a week before Canada Post workers walked off the job.
Mila Roy, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, said in a statement on Tuesday that the passports will be sent to clients once the strike ends and mail service resumes.
“By holding residential mail several days in advance of a work stoppage, Service Canada has reduced the risk of having any passports held in Canada Post distribution centres,” Roy said.
Canadians who already have submitted an application and need a passport urgently can make a request in person to have their passport transferred to a Service Canada centre that offers pickup service.
Li went to a Canada Post office to see if he could pick up his passport in person, but because his passport is not Canadian, he’s left with no option but to wait out the strike. He said he joined a group chat with dozens of others waiting in line, all of them waiting for key documentation that they’re now unable to access.
“There are other people with similar situations who don’t even know where their passport is. It may be in some warehouse or intermediate location,” he said.
“It’s basically a legal document that’s untraceable at this point.”
Provincial assistance cheques not delivered
Passports aren’t the only key pieces of mail caught up in the labour dispute.
Canada Post workers are continuing to deliver some government benefit cheques — including Old Age Security, the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Pension Plan.
But other critical payments, including provincial income assistance and disability assistance, are not being delivered by carriers as long as job action continues. For now, the province is directing people to pick up cheques at a ministry office or set up direct deposit.
But some community advocates say the options provided by the province may not be realistic for some vulnerable populations.
Nicole Mucci with Union Gospel Mission said many people experiencing homelessness may lack the identification needed to set up online banking services, while others may have mobility challenges, making it difficult to get to a ministry office.
“We can’t really tell people who are without housing to go online or go to an office because it kind of ignores their daily struggle to simply survive,” said Mucci.
“When a person already on the verge of poverty or very close to falling into homelessness is no longer able to access the limited funds that they typically would have available to them, there is the risk they could not be able to pay their rent on time which could lead them to eviction.”
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In a written statement, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction said 85 per cent of people receive those payments through direct deposit already.
“Cheques that aren’t being directly deposited are being mailed to the closest ministry or Services B.C. office for pick up. People who cannot make it to the office can authorize another people to pick up their cheque after signing a letter of consent,” said the statement.
The ministry said it is also sending out community specialists to help deliver cheques to people unable to access direct deposit or make their way to a ministry office.