Passport Service Streamlined

New Bill of Rights, Ombudsman for Taxpayers

Two announcements by the Government made in the past couple of weeks might be of interest to you.

The first is the new process established for passport renewal.

As of August 15th, 2007 the Simplified Passport Renewal Program will be available to constituents as part of a broader effort to modernize Canadian passport services.

The new program will allow Canadian citizens who meet certain eligibility criteria to renew their passport using a shorter form and without submitting documentary evidence of citizenship, supplementary identification and a guarantor declaration.

Under the renewal program, passport applicants will only be required to submit the shorter form along with two new photos, the application fee and their last passport.

Canadians who meet the following eligibility criteria will be able to benefit from this program:

• They must be residing in Canada at the time they apply.
  
• They must have resided in Canada at the time of their previous application.
  
• They were 16 years old or over at the time of their previous application.
  
• Their previous passport:
  
• Must have been valid for five years,
  Must have been issued after January 31, 2002,
  
• Was never damaged or reported as lost or stolen, and
  
• Must have been issued under their current name.

This program will yield benefits to both passport applicants and Passport Canada. Applicants will save time and will not have to surrender important documents such as their birth certificates or citizenship cards for an extended period of time. Passport Canada's productivity will increase, as fewer steps will be required for the entitlement and screening of each file. Renewal applications are still subject to all current security verifications.

The new Simplified Passport Renewal Program application form will be available at all Passport Canada service points and through Passport Canada's Web site (www.passport.gc.ca) and it will be accepted at all of Passport Canada offices, through receiving agents and by mail.

Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights and Taxpayers’ Ombudsman
The second announcement came from the Minister for the Canada Revenue Agency Carol Skelton. Her Department has established a Taxpayers Bill of Rights and a Taxpayers’ Ombudsman.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a set of 15 rights confirming that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will serve taxpayers with a high degree of accuracy, professionalism, courteousness and fairness. The Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights also includes the CRA Commitment to Small Business, a five-part statement through which the CRA pledges to support the competitiveness of the Canadian business community by ensuring that interactions with the CRA are as effective and efficient as possible.

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman will be an independent and impartial officer who will operate at arm’s length from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Agency’s Board of Management. The Ombudsman will be charged with upholding the Taxpayer Bill of Rights with respect to service-related matters.

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman has been created to enhance the CRA’s accountability and service to the public and will complement existing service-related complaint resolution mechanisms internal to the CRA, such as the CRA - Service Complaints initiative.

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman will operate at arm's length from and independently of the CRA.

The full description of the 15 principles of the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights and the mandate of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman can be found at www.cra.gc.ca or you can call my office at 470-5075 and we will provide you with copies of the information.

Locally, I know that constituents are frustrated that they can no longer walk into the tax office and talk with a real person. Small business people in particular find the current process very frustrating. As one local small business person told me he doesn’t have all day to sit on a phone waiting to make an appointment to talk with someone. Afterall, he’s got a business to run!

I have talked with the Minister about the dissatisfaction with the service currently available. I am also aware that in an effort to improve efficiency and save money, government departments have chosen to streamline services.

Nevertheless, we should have a system that works for constituents. Let’s hope that the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights and the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman will help us find a way to improve access so that you all feel better served by the CRA.

And keep in mind that regardless of the system, no matter what department, if you feel you are not having success dealing with the Government, call my office for help. That’s what I am here for.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.