There are two main reasons why we hold clinics, the first being that we want to provide people with access. In other words, if they come to the clinic, they can keep their documents. Obviously, we can solve a certain number of problems then and there, for example, if an application has not been completed correctly or if the photos are not adequate.
The second reason for holding and continuing to hold clinics in the coming months is that we want to encourage Canadians to get a passport before June 2009, especially in border regions. People wanting or having to go to the United States will need a passport. However, polls and experience seem to show that in border regions, people are not yet convinced that they will need a passport.
In the major centres, the number of people with passports is extremely high. For people who travel by plane, it's practically 100%. However, in border regions, people think the Americans are going to let them cross without any hassles because they've been crossing the border for 20 years. But there is no guarantee the Americans are going to make any such change to their policy or legislation. That's why the second reason is to encourage people to apply immediately, so that as the deadline approaches, we won't have to deal with an overload of applications that is impossible to handle.