Remission Order in Respect of Certain Fees for the Issuance of Identity and Travel Documents (Hurricane Fiona): SI/2024-17
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 10
Registration
SI/2024-17 May 8, 2024
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
P.C. 2024-387 April 19, 2024
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, makes the annexed Remission Order in Respect of Certain Fees for the Issuance of Identity and Travel Documents (Hurricane Fiona) under subsection 23(2.1)footnote a of the Financial Administration Actfootnote b.
Remission Order in Respect of Certain Fees for the Issuance of Identity and Travel Documents (Hurricane Fiona)
Definition of document
1 In this Order, document means any of the following:
- (a) a passport, as defined in section 2 of the Canadian Passport Order;
- (b) a certificate of citizenship, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Citizenship Act;
- (c) a permanent resident card provided or issued under subsection 53(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations;
- (d) a certificate of identity;
- (e) a refugee travel document issued under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, signed at Geneva on July 28, 1951, and the Protocol to that Convention, signed at New York on January 31, 1967.
Remission
2 Remission is granted to any person who meets the conditions set out in section 3 of the fees paid or payable under any of the following:
- (a) items 3 to 8, 14 and 15 of the schedule to the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations;
- (b) section 4 of the Consular Services Fees Regulations;
- (c) item 6 of the schedule to the Citizenship Regulations;
- (d) subsection 308(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations as it relates to the replacement of a permanent resident card.
Conditions
3 Remission is granted on the condition that
- (a) at some time during the period beginning on September 24, 2022 and ending on March 24, 2023, the person was in, or had their residence in an area in Quebec or in the Atlantic provinces affected by Hurricane Fiona;
- (b) a document that was issued to that person was — while it was valid — lost, damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible as a result of Hurricane Fiona;
- (c) during the period beginning on September 24, 2022 and ending on March 24, 2023, that person, or a person acting on their behalf, made an application in accordance with applicable regulations for the issuance of a document bearing, if applicable, the same expiry date as the document referred to in paragraph (b);
- (d) that person, or the person acting on their behalf, included with the application a declaration made by that person, or on their behalf, stating that the document to be replaced was lost, damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible as a result of Hurricane Fiona and
- (i) proof that, at the time that the document was lost, damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible, that person was a resident of an area referred to in paragraph (a), or
- (ii) a declaration made by that person, or the person acting on their behalf, stating that, at the time that the document was lost, damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible, that person was in the area referred to in paragraph (a); and
- (e) the fees in question have not been remitted under section 11 of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, has made the Remission Order in Respect of Certain Fees for the Issuance of Identity and Travel Documents (Hurricane Fiona) [the Remission Order] pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act (FAA).
Objective
The purpose of the Remission Order is to remit the associated fees for the issuance of replacement Canadian travel documents, permanent resident cards, and certificates of Canadian citizenship that were rendered lost, damaged, destroyed, or inaccessible as a result of Hurricane Fiona in September 2022.
The objectives of the Remission Order are consistent with the Government of Canada’s approach to other recent crises for which various fees were remitted for replacement documents issued to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons whose documents had been lost, damaged, destroyed, or rendered inaccessible as a result of a natural disaster.
Background
Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Canada in September 2022, causing widespread damage in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The storm was one of the strongest in Canadian history. It caused the destruction of at least 20 homes, displaced hundreds of people and left more than 500 000 without electricity.
As part of the Government of Canada’s response to this disaster, the Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, on behalf of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, announced that fees would be waived for those who needed to replace vital lost or destroyed travel documents. The costs associated with obtaining these documents would have imposed an additional burden on these individuals. The replacement documents were issued with the same expiry date as the original documents.
While the special fee measures implemented by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) assisted individuals whose lives were affected by the hurricane, the fees are still legally payable under the relevant regulations. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration does not have the legal authority to direct that fees for Canadians and permanent residents not be collected in emergency and crisis situations, and a remission order is required to extinguish the debt.
Implications
The Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations specify the fees payable for requests for Canadian passports with a validity period of 5 or 10 years. No fees were charged for replacement passports with the same expiry date as the original document. However, associated fees, including express or urgent service fees and the consular service fee, were payable and, therefore, require a Remission Order to extinguish the debt.
The Remission Order applies to fees payable for applications received between September 24, 2022, when the first state of emergency was declared in Nova Scotia, and March 24, 2023, to replace Canadian travel documents, permanent resident cards, and certificates of Canadian citizenship, which fall under the responsibility of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The Remission Order also applies to consular services fees for adult travel documents, which fall under the responsibility of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Applications already in process prior to September 24, 2022, are not considered eligible for remittance under this Order.
To qualify, clients were asked to provide proof of residence, such as a copy of their government-issued identification or a utility bill showing their address, or to complete a declaration form to explain how they have been affected by Hurricane Fiona. IRCC used electronic systems to verify that the fee remittance for travel document-related services only applies to documents for individuals in the designated group.
Financial implications
The total cost of foregone revenues from remitting fees payable to the Crown for the associated passport services fees is $855, including $375 for the consular services fee.
| Service provided | Volume | Fee waived | Total foregone revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport expedited services (domestic) — urgent pick-up | 2 | $110 | $220 |
| Passport expedited services (domestic) — standard pick-up | 13 | $20 | $260 |
| Consular services fee | 15 | $25 | $375 |
| Total | $855 | ||
Accountability
All remissions associated with the Remission Order will be reported in the annual Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and IRCC fees reports and in GAC and IRCC public accounts, as required.
Consultation
The Privy Council Office, Treasury Board Secretariat, Finance Canada, GAC, and Justice Canada were consulted on this initiative.
Contact
Lisa Bokwa
Director General
Passport Program Policy
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5K2