I read today on Garth Turner’s website that the panic is starting to set in, and many people are calling their MP’s office upset that they can’t get the passport that they now need in order to travel into the United States.  From Garth’s press release:

Passport applications normally take 20 business days to be processed,
but untold numbers of them are currently sitting unopened at the
government’s passport facility in Gatineau, Que. Turner’s office has
been told by officials that application envelopes which arrived at the
end of November are just this week (January 18-19) being opened.

Having recently been through this process, I’m not surprised that applications which were mailed in wound up in a black hole.  When I knew I needed a passport, I wanted “look ‘em in the eyes” accountability and that’s exactly what I got.  Here is my recommendation to everyone who needs a passport ASAP.

1. Fill out your application online.  If you fill out the form online, you are given priority status and are able jump all of the lines that no doubt are spilling onto the streets at the passport office.  In my case I could only fill out my own application online, and my kids had to fill out traditional forms - I was still given priority for all of my applications.
2. Submit your application in person at a passport office.  Click here for locations.  When you arrive at the passport office, be sure to let them know that you filled out the form online.  When you do so, they will give you the next available agent.
3. Be sure to select the appropriate level of service.  Urgent costs you an extra $70 and will get you a passport in 24 hours.  Express costs an extra $30 and will get you a passport in 2 to 9 working days.
4. Be sure to note the mail-out date and tracking number printed on your receipt.  In my case the mailout date was incredibly accurate and the passports came the next day via expresspost.
5. Use the tracking number to get updates on your application if anything seems to be going wrong.

This process was very quick for me.  Although I had set aside two hours to spend in the Brampton passport office, it took me only ten minutes to complete.  Sure I received lots of icy stares when I bypassed the waiting room but that’s what I get for filling things out online.  And the most important part of this whole procedure is the accountability - when you hand it in personally they are incredibly efficient at keep everything tracked.  Good luck!