Thank you, Ms. Chabot.
I agree with what you said about the exemplary work of Service Canada employees. As I said, they worked extremely hard in very difficult circumstances.
I also agree that the situation was predictable. Nonetheless, we could not have anticipated the huge number of applications we received. That is why we hired more people at Service Canada in January, precisely because we knew that there would be an increase in passport applications.
As you also know, it takes time to train employees, managers, and passport staff. We knew there would be an increase in applications as soon as the restrictions were lifted. What we did not know, and what no one knew in advance, was exactly when the travel restrictions would be lifted. That placed a lot of pressure on the system and, as you said, put a lot of stress on Canadians who wanted to travel after staying home for two years.