CDN Passport Increases

From the Globe and Mirror:

"Cost of Canadian Passports to Rise Significangtly Next Year"

The cost of getting a Canadian passport is going up significantly in the new year.Without the fee increases, Passport Canada would not be able to maintain current operations, let alone offer security-enhanced travel documents, the agency says. New regulations posted this week confirm the cost of a five-year passport will increase to $120 from $87. And starting in July 2013, a 10-year passport will also be offered at a cost of $160. By March 2014, Passport Canada will also charge an additional $45 to replace a passport that’s lost or stolen, something that’s currently free. Approximately 55,000 Canadian passports are reported lost or stolen annually, the agency said. As well, anyone ordering or wanting to receive their passport outside of Canada will see fees nearly double. The agency said it’s currently losing nearly $5 every time it issues a passport, and has been financing its deficit by using previously accumulated surpluses that will run out next year. Passport fees in Canada have not increased for nearly a decade, the agency noted. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced in October that Canada would adopt new passports that include chip technology and watermark images designed to prevent fraud. The ePassport looks like a regular passport booklet, but contains an electronic chip that holds all of the personal information listed on the second page of the document. The chip – already being used in dozens of other countries – can be read by border authorities to confirm the passport is valid. Canada is the only G8 country that doesn’t currently issue ePassports to the general public, although it has been issuing chip-enhanced diplomatic and special passports since 2009. The new passports will also contain watermarks depicting iconic images from Canadian history. Canadians ordering passports from outside the country will see the biggest jump in fees. It will cost $190 to apply for, or receive, the five-year document in another country, up from $97. The fee will be $260 for the 10-year version requested under the same circumstances. The cost of a child’s passport is also going up to $57, an increase of $20, if ordered domestically. It’ll cost $100 if the child’s application is processed outside Canada. The increases may be too much of a burden for seniors or low-income Canadians, Passport Canada acknowledged in the regulations. “Consultations have demonstrated that some segments of the Canadian population may be more sensitive to an increase in passport fees,” the agency said in its cost-benefit analysis. It currently costs American citizens $110 (U.S.) to renew a passport in the United States, or $135 for a new one. In the United Kingdom, an adult passport will set back residents there the equivalent of about $117.

^ I can understand that the fee for a 5 year passport will be different than a 10 year passport (since it is valid 5 more years and will be biometric.) I can even understand the current 5 year passport costing a little more. I am concerned with the cost of a Canadian passport for someone outside Canada. In the past we Canadians living in the US have had to pay extra to mail our applications in and get the passport back. I do not think it is fair that a Canadian living in Canada will have to pay $160 for a 10 year, biometric passport while a Canadian living in the US (or outside Canada) will have to pay $260 for the same thing. $10-20 bucks more I could understand because of mailing the document - especially to the US - but not $100 more. Also, many countries give reduced or free passports to senior citizens. I think Canada (and all other countries) should at least reduce the price for people 60 years or older. Canada knows that its citizens need a passport to go to the US and since more than half the population of Canada lives within 2 hours from the US border these increased fees seem to be a way for Passport Canada and the Canadian Government to restrict its citizens from leaving Canada. It would be one thing if Canada had a Passport Card like the US does which allows Americans to enter/leave the US and go to: Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean by land or sea and are much cheaper than a regular US Passport (I have both the Passport Card and Booklet.) Another option would be for all the territories and provinces to have enhanced driver's licenses which are valid for travel by land (I also think all US states and territories should have the same.) No country has a right to restrict its people from leaving and re-entering (whether it be an exit visa needed or an expensive passport.) ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/cost-of-canadian-passports-to-rise-significantly-next-year/article6601606/