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Passport Canada is an independent operating agency of the Government of Canada and Foreign Affairs Canada. It operates under the auspices of the Canadian Passport Order, which defines the agency. Prior to March 2005, it was known as the Passport Office. The office is responsible for issuing, revoking, withholding, and recovering Canadian passports. Due to the agency's status as a Special Operating Agency, Passport Canada is financed through the fees collected for issuing passports and other travel documents. They do not receive funding from the federal government.

Issues

Abdurahman Khadr

In July 2004, Abdurahman Khadr was denied a Canadian passport by explicit decision of Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham. To achieve this, Graham invoked the royal prerogative, a rarely-used power usually reserved for ceremonial duties, claiming the decision was "in the interest of the national security of Canada and the protection of Canadian troops in Afghanistan." This prerogative is provided for in the Order Amending the Canadian Passport Order of 22 September, 2004.[8] Khadr and his attorney, noted Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, have announced they will appeal the decision.

Khadr's appeal of the government's use of Royal Prerogative to deny him a passport came to court on December 5 2005.^[1] Ruby called the government's position "disgraceful" and said it was inconsistent with the Canadian constitution.

Auditor General's Report

In April 2005, the Auditor General of Canada Sheila Fraser gave a scathing report on Passport Canada, claiming that employees of the agency lack proper security clearance. Prior to the Auditor General's report, Passport Canada had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Corrections Canada to obtain a full list of inmates' names, as they are ineligible for a passport.

Passport requirement to enter the United States

That same month, the United States Department of Homeland Security announced that most Canadians will soon require a passport to enter that country. This requirement could come into effect as early as December 2005, but will not be fully implemented until 2007. The new passport requirement will affect citizens of Canada, who currently only need to show identification (usually a driver's licence) and proof of Canadian citizenship (usually a birth certificate) upon request to enter the United States. It is expected that the demand for passports will increase in light of the new policy.

In response to this policy, the Canadian government enacted a new rule stating that most Americans will also require a passport to enter Canada, though they, like Canadians, would also need a passport to reenter the United States.

Five-Year Validity

Many have suggested that Canada should extend the validity of Canadian passports for adults from five years to ten in order to reduce the cost of bearing a passport^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8], especially since many countries will not issue visas in passports with less than six months validity left, reducing the effective life of a Canadian passport to four and a half years^[9]^[10]^[11]. Australia^[12], Britain^[13] and the United States^[14] already issue ten-year passports to adults. In 2001 the Passport Office asserted that a five-year period of validity was desirable in order to deter counterfeiting and to keep Canadian passports up-to-date with the latest technology^[15]. New Zealand passports are also valid for a maximum of five years^[9], but Israeli citizens can extend their passports up to ten years^[16].

French-English passport proposal

In September 2003 Le Devoir printed a piece calling on the Passport Office to give individual Canadians the choice of which official language appeared first in their passports, English or French. The Passport Office initially claimed that this was not allowed under international norms, but it was shown that question no. 10 on Belgian passport applications ^[17] already asked Belgian citizens which of its three official languages (Dutch, French or German) should appear first in their passports.

References

^ [1]
^ Globe and Mail. April 3, 2006 issue, page A12
^ Toronto Star. April 16, 2005 issue, page F.07
^ Toronto Star. April 14, 2005 issue, page A.29
^ Toronto Star. March 5, 2004 issue, page A.23
^ Windsor Star. April 15, 2005 issue, page A.9
^ Times-Colonist. Victoria, B.C. August 29, 2003 issue, page A.12
^ The Gazette. Montreal, Que. August 8, 2002 issue, page B.2
^ ^a ^b [2] (PDF)
^ Globe and Mail. April 5, 2006 issue, page A16
^ The Gazette. Montreal, Que. August 11, 2002 issue, page A.16
^ [3]
^ [4]
^ [5]
^ Toronto Star. April 25, 2002 issue, page K.01
^ [6]
^ [7] (PDF)

External links

[1] [1]

[2] Globe and Mail. April 3, 2006 issue, page A12

[3] Toronto Star. April 16, 2005 issue, page F.07

[4] Toronto Star. April 14, 2005 issue, page A.29

[5] Toronto Star. March 5, 2004 issue, page A.23

[6] Windsor Star. April 15, 2005 issue, page A.9

[7] Times-Colonist. Victoria, B.C. August 29, 2003 issue, page A.12

[8] The Gazette. Montreal, Que. August 8, 2002 issue, page B.2

[NZ-9] [2] (PDF)

[10] Globe and Mail. April 5, 2006 issue, page A16

[11] The Gazette. Montreal, Que. August 11, 2002 issue, page A.16

[12] [3]

[13] [4]

[14] [5]

[15] Toronto Star. April 25, 2002 issue, page K.01

[16] [6]

[17] [7] (PDF)

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@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ===Passport requirement to enter the United States===
-That same month, the [[United States]] [[Department of Homeland Security]] announced that most Canadians will soon require a passport to enter that country. This requirement could come into effect as early as December [[2005]], but will not be fully implemented until [[2007]]. The new passport requirement will affect citizens of [[Canada]], who currently only need to show identification (usually a driver's license) and proof of Canadian citizenship (usually a birth certificate) upon request to enter the United States. It is expected that the demand for passports will increase in light of the new policy.
+That same month, the [[United States]] [[Department of Homeland Security]] announced that most Canadians will soon require a passport to enter that country. This requirement could come into effect as early as December [[2005]], but will not be fully implemented until [[2007]]. The new passport requirement will affect citizens of [[Canada]], who currently only need to show identification (usually a driver's licence) and proof of Canadian citizenship (usually a birth certificate) upon request to enter the United States. It is expected that the demand for passports will increase in light of the new policy.
 In response to this policy, the Canadian government enacted a new rule stating that most Americans will also require a passport to enter Canada, though they, like Canadians, would also need a passport to reenter the United States.