As we last tuned in, we were talking about the 500,000 seniors who, as of this morning, have enrolled in the dental care program. Of those, 73% who applied did so without human interaction. Those who did contact the specialized call centre had waiting times of less than a few seconds.
When it comes to the passport program, we continue to encourage Canadians to apply for a passport as early as possible before booking a trip. In December 2023, 96% of passports were issued within one to 20 business days and the passport backlog of 313,000 from last year has been completely eliminated. Between April 1 and December 31, 2023, we issued more than three million passports.
We continue to drive innovation through the use of automation and artificial intelligence. Soon individuals will be able to renew their passports online, which will eliminate altogether the need to wait in line and will shorten the lines for those who choose to do it in person.
In the meantime, we launched an online passport application status checker, and 1.5 million people have utilized it to track the real-time status of their applications. Those are individuals who don't need to call the call centre or wait in line. It's an example of a government service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You don't have to take time off work or pay for parking to use it. It is simply a better way of providing the service than was previously available.
We've also expanded the capabilities of the eSIN program. This is a digital program from start to finish that provides millions of transactions online. This is important, because every transaction is one less person standing in front of you at a Service Canada office.
Another example of improving our digital service delivery is the benefits delivery modernization initiative. In the past year alone, we've delivered $147.3 billion in crucial benefits like EI, CPP and OAS to over 9.5 million Canadians. I am pleased to report that we successfully deployed the first release of OAS on BDM this past summer, and 600,000 Canadians are currently receiving their benefits through the new platform. The full migration of OAS remains on track for December of this year.
Since 2017, the BDM programme has spent $817 million, while Treasury Board approvals to date amount to $2.2 billion over a period of more than 10 years.
This leads me to the supplementary estimates.
For BDM, we're requesting an adjustment of $54.2 million. This is a re-profile of funds that were approved to be spent in 2022-23.
Madam Chair, I'd like to thank all members of the committee for inviting me here today and for the work that you do every single day, not just at this committee but in the House and in your constituencies. It's a lot of work, and you often do it away from your families and with competing priorities. No matter how partisan discussion can become in the chamber or even at committee, I reflect often on the fact that we are all playing for the same team. We all want Canada to be successful.
That collaborative effort has made our country one of the best places in the world to live. Delivering a modern customer service experience is an important part of building on that legacy.
Thank you for having me today. After my colleague speaks, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.