As of last year, the federal government ushered in major changes to the way Canadian passports are formally issued!
These changes have the potential to speed up the renewal process for obtaining a passport on the go, but what’s the flip side?
As with any freedom granted/supported by a government agency, the change is likely to enable forgery, fraud, and identity theft, especially troubling and plausible in our current global climate of heightened security.
An internal communication issued by this Canadian governmental agency last year explained that the changes were intended to allow online applications and no longer require the return of the old passport!
What’s the replacement method of passport destruction here?
Travelers will be told to “cut the corners” of the document, without any means of verifying that this has, in fact, been done! The change took effect on Nov. 1, 2015, for online applications and Dec. 14, 2015, for paper-based applications that are manually received.
What are the potential consequences?
This decree was issued despite the department’s own internal analysis warning of significant security risks, both domestic, and abroad!
Even though the old passport are to be cancelled in the system, it will look still by all means appear to be a valid passport, meaning that the holder could travel to any of the countries in the world that do not have a substantial agreement with Canada to share a certain set of data. What list is this, you ask? The government keeps track of all cancelled/expired travel documents and it is essential to national security that this information gets conveyed to the world’s often disconnected territories.
Canada’s previously issued ordinances required an old travel document to be returned with the application for a new one, after which it was immediately cancelled electronically and physically, as well! How? A simple perforation with a two-hole punch sufficed. The document was then securely destroyed or returned to the applicant.
Obviously, passports and in particular, passports in great condition are of extremely high value on the black market, especially in the Middle East and parts of Africa. This change in policy in a time of growing insurgencies, extremism and a complex global stage where security requires international collaboration and cooperation on all fronts.
Finally, be sure to message us at ePassportPhoto to get quick guidance from our representatives!