Police called over "disturbance" in days-long Surrey passport line
The lineup at a Surrey, BC, passport office got so bad that someone called police over customers yelling at staff.
Surrey RCMP told Daily Hive they received a report of a “disturbance” in the line at the Central City Mall passport office just before 11 am Friday. The caller said there were approximately 10 people in line yelling at staff, and officers went to the mall to keep the peace.
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Passport renewal wait times have skyrocketed in Canada this year as people scramble to renew their travel documents now that pandemic restrictions have eased.
Canadians with imminent travel plans and an out-of-date passport have had to wait hours and sometimes days at the passport offices. It’s gotten so bad that some entrepreneurs have started charging to hold spots in the passport lines.
In Surrey, TikTok user @kenzo9999_ posted about waiting in line for three days outside Central City to renew their passport.
@kenzo9999_Canada is killing it right now ☺️♬ original sound – DailyDoseOfSoundEffects
They stayed outside overnight in the rain to secure a new passport and shared footage of people in line with camping chairs, tents, and blankets.
@kenzo9999_ After about 40 hours in line outside we finally got our passports! Watch us on @CTVNews ♬ Funny Song – Cavendish Music
After 40 hours, the TikToker was successful in renewing their passport.
A spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, which manages Service Canada passport offices, told Daily Hive that the Surrey Service Canada office is offering walk-in service to people travelling in two business days. It’s offering appointment-only service for people travelling in three to 25 days, but all appointments are currently booked.
Daily walk-ins are prioritized based on date of travel, the spokesperson said.
“We appreciate that this situation has evolved and communication has been unclear. We regret the impact this has had on some clients.”
Clients who have appointments may be displaced due to the volume of urgent requests, the spokesperson added. In that case they’ll be offered an alternate appointment outside of regular business hours.
As travel restrictions eased, Service Canada increased in-person capacity by 40% to get closer to pre-pandemic levels the week of May 9. The organization has hired 600 employees specifically to support passport applications.