New speedy passport service launches in Barrie
The federal government announced a new passport service in Barrie that will make getting a passport or renewing an expiring one more convenient.
"I'm happy to announce that 10-day passport pickup service has begun here in Barrie," said Maninder Sidhu, Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Secretary.
Under the new system, anyone can get their passports in 10 days without an appointment.
Mark Grzenda with Service Canada said there is a 10-day service standard "if there are no complications with the file after it's submitted."
The delays and wait times at passport offices have been felt across the country. Service Canada has issued more than one million passports since April.
Sidhu noted the service would eliminate the need for Barrie residents and those in neighbouring communities to travel to passport offices in North York or Toronto.
Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley said he hopes the service works as it claims.
"There is still a backlog, but from what the parliamentary secretary said today, people should be able to come to the office and get their passports back in 10 days. Let's keep our fingers crossed that that turns out because up until today, it's been a bit of a fiasco."
Service Canada in Barrie is now among the 12 locations offering the speedier service by either pickup or mail. If by mail, Service Canada says to allow delivery within two to five additional days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.