passport canada rules

as i'm sure most of you have heard on the news there has been a bit of a rush on passports here in canada in the last couple of months. the primary cause of this trouble is the introduction of new boarder controls for flights to and from the u.s.a. as you may also be aware i use my passport as my primary (read: only) form of photo identification.

just as my luck would have it the new flight policy took effect jan. 23 and my passport expired jan. 29. sigh. so not really a big deal since i don't get i.d.'d that much anymore (also sigh) except that i am flying to montreal next week to visit chloe (see posting below) and will likely need to present some form of photo i.d. to claim my tickets...they are getting so demanding these days.

by chance i had recently discovered from mitch that one can fill out a passport form online. i decided to do this since i don't have a printer at home and can't be bothered to pick up a form from a post office. completing online is a relatively painless process although the website is slowwwww. once completed i had my photos and form signed and marched down to the passport office, conveniently located one block from my work.

as per the warnings on the news i came prepared with a plan to get my number grab some food and wait it out until i was processed. walking up to the office there were people sitting out in the hall because there weren't enough chairs inside the waiting area. as i was waiting in line to get my number to wait in line some more i overheard the number-hander-outer tell the lady in front of me the wait was estimated at 2-2.5 hours. dutifully i hand the nho my form and the following conversation occurs:

nho: do you have your old passport and birth certificate with you?
me: yes
nho: who told you to fill this out online?
me: (to myself: if this isn't valid for some reason i'm going to kill someone, or write a strongly worded letter) no one
nho: okay, you're next. (holding out number)
me: next?
nho: yes...oh, number 5 is available, go ahead.
me: uhhhhh (bewildered)

upon further consultation with my passport wicket lady i discovered that if ANYONE fills out the form online you get 'head of the line' service at the passport office. NO WAITING!!! i was in and out of the building in 10 minutes. it took me longer to get my photos developed. it was truly the least disappointing interaction i've had with the government in a long time.

get online: get it done.