Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to be back in the House with colleagues and to see you in the chair.
I want to thank my colleague across the way, the member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, for his follow-up question. As a matter of fact, I have news on the progress that has been made over the summer to share with the House and colleagues who are here.
I would like to point out and we need to acknowledge that Service Canada employees have been working flat out to deal with this unprecedented situation. They have taken countless days and hours and weeks, working overtime and on weekends, because we knew we needed to take this seriously and because we know members like my colleague across the way agreed with us that this was important to Canadians.
Our Service Canada employees are deeply aware, as is the minister, that the timely processing and delivery of passports is a vital service that has been severely disrupted in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The minister has made it clear in numerous public events and media interviews that fixing the problem is her priority, and that is exactly what she is doing. The figures change every day, but these examples help tell the story of the enormous efforts that are going into giving Canadians the service they deserve.
Therefore, let us start with dates. Since April 1, Service Canada has issued over a million passports. For the week of September 12 to September 18, Service Canada issued 68,550 passports. Starting in the week of June 20, triage measures were implemented in 17 passport offices across the country. On July 25, Service Canada expanded the passport pickup service to five additional passport offices: Brampton, Whitby, Pointe-Claire, Calgary Sundance and Richmond.
Here are a few more dates. On July 29, Service Canada announced that Canadians who mailed a completed application more than 20 business days ago and are travelling within the next 20 business days can visit any of our over 300 Service Canada centres to make a transfer request themselves. This guarantees that their application is processed in time for their travel. Service Canada continues to introduce new measures to improve passport service delivery and decrease wait times for Canadians as it works through the unprecedented demands and volume.
For example, the triage system introduced this summer in 17 of our 35 passport offices has made a significant impact in reducing the line-ups. In addition to the existing passport offices offering pickup service to Canadians, Canadians can apply for and pick up their passport at the following Service Canada centres. I will list them, just so we all know: Trois-Rivières, Quebec; Sherbrooke, Quebec; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; Kingston, Ontario; Sudbury, Ontario; Charlottetown, P.E.I.; Red Deer, Alberta; and, Lethbridge, Alberta. Unlike the regular Service Canada centres, these eight locations offer 10-day service.
Canadians who need their passport in fewer than 10 business days will need to visit a passport office that offers express or urgent pickup service. The expansion of pickup sites will allow many Canadians who need to pick up their passports to do so closer to their homes, because, like the member across the way, we heard that distance was an issue. In fact, Service Canada is working toward in-person passport services within 50 kilometres of the homes of nearly all Canadians. Also, more scheduled outreach sites that pertain to certain passport services will be added in the coming weeks across the country, and I look forward to updating the member again.
These challenges have been achieved by increased staffing, which has given Service Canada tools to vastly improve and expedite in-person service. Service Canada employees are working hard, putting in overtime on evenings and weekends to service Canadians in applying for their passports, and it is important we acknowledge that. I want to thank the member opposite for his question and for his advocacy.