Passport delay prevents Canadian teen from collaborating in martial arts

A younger aggressive martial artist from Delta, BC, has been sidelined from her sport due to a prolonged delay in getting her passport.

Fourteen-year-old Sybila was ranked first on the planet amongst different jiu-jitsu athletes in her bracket earlier this yr however dropped all the way down to fifth after lacking competitions as a result of she couldn’t cross the border.

Her father, Vincent Leelin, tells Day by day Hive the prolonged delay and lack of knowledge from the federal government is unacceptable.

“She trains three to 4 days per week. She’s taken dwelling a whole lot of gold for Canada, however … one of many main causes holding [her] again is a journey doc. It simply will get very irritating.”

The younger athlete dropped within the rankings after lacking competitions in November and December (Submitted)

The household visited the Burnaby Service Canada workplace in mid-July to get new passports for Sybila’s upcoming competitors season. They thought they’d have loads of time.

Vincent remembered a be aware on the door of the passport workplace advising individuals to not make journey plans on or earlier than November 17, however that was superb as a result of his daughter’s first competitors wasn’t till late November.

Vincent and his spouse obtained their new passports on November 20 and 21, however their daughter’s nonetheless hasn’t arrived. They needed to cancel Sybila’s November competitors and a contest in December. Now, Vincent isn’t certain if he ought to register her for the following competitors in January.

It’s extremely discouraging for the younger athlete and her household — particularly since one competitors location was lower than an hour’s drive from their dwelling in Delta.

Submitted

Vincent isn’t certain why his daughter’s passport is taking a lot longer, particularly since she’s so younger, she was born in Canada, and she or he had a Canadian passport already. Vince and his spouse had Philippine and American passports, respectively, and utilized for brand new Canadian ones after getting their citizenship.

The daddy adopted up with the passport workplace when the November 17 anticipated supply date got here and went and was merely advised his daughter’s software was nonetheless being processed. The one replace was that it may go barely sooner if her passport was despatched to the Surrey workplace.

The household nonetheless doesn’t know when the teenager’s passport might be prepared.

“That’s so much for a kid. I imply, undergo all that [training]. And the following factor you recognize, there’s just one that’s holding you again, which is your passport.”

A spokesperson for Employment and Social Growth Canada, which manages Service Canada places, apologized for the household’s wait in an electronic mail to Day by day Hive.

“We deeply remorse the circumstances that resulted within the inconvenience to this shopper on account of this case,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Whereas the timeliness of passport processing has improved over the autumn and winter, our groups continued to work by a backlog of purposes akin to this one over this era as properly, and because of this, this software has fallen properly exterior our requirements.”

In a Fb group known as Canadian Passport, others are additionally complaining about prolonged delays on their kids’s passports. Bonnie Cheng mentioned she submitted her daughter’s software in August and remains to be ready for the passport — though an grownup software she submitted on the identical time already got here by.

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Marco Roy submitted his 13-year-old son’s software for a brand new passport in March 2022, and though he’s obtained his unique paperwork again there’s nonetheless no passport in sight. He hopes his son will obtain it in time for a cruise deliberate in Could.

Pissed off dad and mom are additionally taking to the federal authorities’s official social media accounts to complain.

Passport workplaces handled enormous lineups earlier this yr as journey picked up after pandemic restrictions lifted. A part of the issue was slim staffing after COVID-19 layoffs paired with a surge in demand for passports. At one level, entrepreneurial people even charged tons of of {dollars} to carry a spot within the days-long lineups.

However the authorities employed many extra staff over the summer time, and now boasts that 94% of passport purposes have been processed inside 20 enterprise days since October 3.

TikTok consumer @kenzo9999_ captured these pictures of the road on the Central Metropolis passport workplace in Surrey, BC, extending into the parking zone (@kenzo9999_/TikTok)

“The excessive software quantity within the first half of 2022, mixed with the well being and security measures in place, led to a build-up of stock that exceeded our capability to course of purposes inside service requirements,” the Employment and Social Growth spokesperson mentioned.

She additionally famous {that a} baby’s passport technically can’t be renewed — the guardian or guardian should apply for a brand new baby passport when the present one expires, and every software is assessed individually. Purposes for brand new passports are apparently extra difficult than renewals.

“All efforts proceed to be made to course of purposes obtained previous to October 3, together with having devoted sources processing these purposes,” the spokesperson mentioned.

She added purchasers who’ve not obtained their passports again in 20 enterprise days can request a switch by contacting the Passport Program or visiting a Service Canada centre or passport workplace to make sure their software is processed in time for journey.