In 2005, we opened a passport office in Pointe-Claire, in Quebec. That same year, we also opened two other offices in Toronto suburbs, namely, in Brampton and Whitby.
The first criterion we use to decide whether or not to open a passport office is the volume of applications. Since nearly 80% of Canadians submit their passport application in person, the model we use currently is based on traffic at the counter. Obviously, passport offices were opened in high-volume areas, namely in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, in the provincial capitals. The model is changing and i will get back to this issue later on, if I'm asked about it.
The second criterion is profitability. We take a look at the number of applications processed there and how much it costs to run a passport office. The numbers tell us that, in order to be profitable, an average-sized passport office must process between 45,000 to 50,000 passports per year. Naturally there are front end and infrastructure costs, as well as operating costs, which include salaries and postage.
The Saguenay office is profitable partly because the applications received in Ottawa are forwarded there for processing. Small offices with flexible capacity receive applications from the central office for processing. This is how these offices become profitable over the long term.