Government Operations committee  By using Service Canada, and looking at the costs--how much Service Canada would charge us to do that business--the extent to which their service can be provided geographically is much greater than what Passport Canada can provide, unless we have small offices in every northern Ontario town.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, we are looking at eventually changing the model we have. As I said before, as we proceed with technology and the capacity to process from everywhere in Canada, that option remains available.

Government Operations committee  We are, in the sense that not all Service Canada offices provide passport services. That is the first challenge. Service Canada has about 320 offices across the country, but only 100 of them provide the service. In some constituencies, you're absolutely right: the service is not provided by Service Canada.

Government Operations committee  We are right now....Three things needed to be done in order to provide Service Canada with what they need to expand. The first was a change to the passport order, and that is being done as we speak. The second was to have an implementation plan, and that is being done as we speak.

Government Operations committee  In the case of Canadians living abroad who need a travel document, if we don't issue a passport, we can issue a one-way travel document. It is, in fact, possible to issue a document allowing them to come back to Canada.

Government Operations committee  We will find out about the number of counterfeit passports. Those figures are compiled by the Canadian Border Services Agency, since that is the agency intercepting counterfeit passports at the border. We have also made the commitment to publishing in our annual report figures regarding security, the number of passports lost or stolen in circulation, etc. so that people can understand the scope of the problem.

Government Operations committee  For security reasons, we allow them to come to Canada. If there are other security grounds preventing them from travelling, our decision is based on the information provided by our partners.

Government Operations committee  The number of passports refused for national security reasons—

Government Operations committee  There are three individuals in Canada to whom we have refused a passport for national security reasons. The refusal of a passport based on such grounds is done by the minister and not by Passport Canada. That is a decision that comes from the political sphere.

Government Operations committee  The fee structure is regulated by various frameworks, including the User Fee Act. In accordance with that legislation, Passport Canada cannot increase fees without first holding public consultations. We cannot unfreeze the cap imposed on us. There are also various chapters of the Financial Administration Act and the Canadian Passport Order.

Government Operations committee  No, to a working capital fund.

Government Operations committee  We have a working capital fund and we keep the funding.

Government Operations committee  The difficulty we have with regard to the pay scale is that departments have an appropriation. They have an amount of money provided to them through the budget. But we are self-financed, and there's a ceiling on how much we can charge for a passport.

Government Operations committee  So we have to manage the salary envelope within that.

Government Operations committee  Absolutely.