YORKTON-MELVILLE RESIDENTS REMINDED OF
PASSPORT REQUIREMENT

OTTAWA – Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, would like to remind everyone planning to travel that you may need a passport to enter the United States.

“Starting January 2007, you will need a passport to enter the United States if you are travelling by air,” said Breitkreuz. “Passports will be required for Canadians entering the United States by land or sea as early as January 2008.”

With more and more Canadians setting their sights on warmer winter destinations, it is imperative that the necessary forms for obtaining or renewing a passport are filed as soon as possible. As of January 2007, Canadians entering or transiting the United States without a passport will be prevented from boarding their flight.

“This is a very busy time of year, and at the Passport Offices we are hearing of some very long lines of people waiting just to drop off their passport application forms,” said Breitkreuz. “I have heard that on one afternoon last week, people at a Service Centre in Saskatoon were waiting in line for up to three hours.”

Passport applications can be filled out a number of different ways, including on-line. The passport on-line form is an interactive application that will guide you through all sections of the form. This new initiative helps to minimize errors and eliminate omissions. You will need to print your application form, sign it and have your guarantor sign your completed application form and one of your photos. You will have to mail your application in with the supporting documents or present it with supporting documents to a service location. The Yorkton Service Canada Centre is located at 214 Smith Street East in the Imperial Plaza Complex. Completed passport application forms can be dropped off at the Yorkton location, and the application will then be forwarded to a processing centre. Application forms can also be obtained at the Yorkton Service Canada Centre.

“There are quite a few steps that need to be taken when filing a passport, and it will take time and in some cases patience,” said Breitkreuz. “However, having that passport will save a lot of time at international border crossings.”

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, 3 million passports were issued within Canada, meaning close to 40 per cent of all Canadians hold a passport. Passport Canada forecasts that 3.8 million passports will be issued in 2008-2009, and that almost half the Canadian population will hold a valid passport at that time.

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