Canadian passports, fee hikes

The fee hikes for Canadian passports has managed to bring in millions of dollars for the government, but Canadian citizens should not expect the fees to decrease any time soon. Figures which were recently released by the Canadian government show that Canadians paid a total last year of $462.5 million in passport fees, but the government only spent $256.5 million in order to create the documents necessary for issuing passports. The funds paid to Passport Canada are managed differently than government agencies, and the law allows the entity to bank any surplus funds that are generated from the fee hikes on Canadian passports. According to Nancy Caron, a spokesperson for the Citizenship and Immigration entity “We are not forecasting any change to passport fees to cover revolving fund requirements at this time.”

Some are upset with the fee hikes enacted for Canadian passports, and these individuals point out that the program generated more than $200 million dollars and that the passport fees should be adjusted accordingly. The fee hikes for Canadian passports were substantial. A 5 year passport used to be $87 but that increased to $120, and those who want a 10 year passport now have the option of paying $160. In the fiscal year 2013-2014 Canada issued almost 5 million passports. When the fee hikes for Canadian passports were first introduced the reasoning was that these increases were essential. Canada Passport outlined the new structure for passport fees and explained that “At a time when Canadians are increasingly concerned about identity fraud, Passport Canada is quickly reaching a point where not only will new advancements be impossible, but the organization’s ability to maintain current operations will be jeopardized.”