Central government employees strike Quebecers fear having to cancel their trips again

(Ottawa) A family trip to America. It’s one of the only hopes for a 14-year-old boy who has been battling cancer for months. The program has already been canceled for the first time due to the pandemic. A strike by central government employees could be at risk again.

The parents had planned to apply for passports earlier this year for a July trip to Hawaii, but their son’s diagnosis turned everything upside down. Today, they hope that the labor dispute between the central government and its 155,000 civil servants will be resolved soon so that they can get new travel documents.

“Perhaps issuing a passport is not an essential service, but this trip is for our family: recharging the batteries and reuniting,” explains Anique Langlois, the teenager’s mother, in a lengthy email. Pres.

Her son Emil has been hospitalized since January 16. The tumors compressed his spine and paralyzed him. Against all odds, he managed to take some steps towards the end of March.

“We were ready to travel despite the limitations he had at the time, which we didn’t know yet,” said M in an interview.^me Nurse Langlois. Like her partner Stefan, she spends most of her time in the hospital.

“When we listen to our politicians on TV, we get the impression that they are a little distant from the reality of the people,” adds the nurse. “We can understand the demands of the trade unions, but behind all this, there are real stories of people like us. »

Many Quebecers fear having to cancel their trips because they can’t get a new passport in time. The strike by central government employees, which began on Wednesday, raises fears of a fresh crisis similar to last year’s.

“In a way, they took my passport hostage,” laments Benoît Giguere in an interview, a sentiment echoed by many readers. Pres. He submitted an application for his new travel document on Monday, two days before the walkout was due to begin.

Fearing he would not be able to get his passport in time if a strike was called, he had requested expedited service, but was denied because his departure for the United States was not scheduled until May 18.

“Uh… no, no, don’t worry about it, if we strike it will take two or three days at most,” the official who processed his request would have told him. His new passport was to be issued to him on the 1st^R May, but he doesn’t know if he can get it now. And the old one was destroyed.

Jean Préfontaine, who was expecting his daughter’s passport on April 19, the first day of the strike, chose to take the lead and find out the day before. Unable to get details because the file is still open. “Additionally, the employee suggested that I call again later this week, so after the strike was called,” he says in an email. I was stunned! Is it smoke? His family trip to Mexico is planned for the end of May.

“While I understand the reasons for the strike, it is unacceptable to hold people hostage like this,” said Emma B. Pres. It’s been four years since we traveled last year due to the war in Ukraine, due to covid-19. She also needs to renew her daughter’s passport in preparation for a trip to visit relatives and friends.

Worried faces

Many worried faces were seen Thursday at the Service Canada Passport office at the Complexe Guy-Favreau in downtown Montreal. At the site, two federal government managers explained to the public that only passport applications for “humanitarian emergencies” were processed. All other demands will have to wait and will be accepted only after the strike is over.

“It’s been two months since I got my appointment, I left work to attend, they can’t do anything for me, they didn’t even notify me by email not to come,” lamented a resident. Her name is Alison. The young woman has two trips planned this summer, to the US and Europe, and is wondering whether to cancel everything.

“They are telling us to wait until the strike ends, but no one knows when it will end, and by then there may be a lot of passport applications. I’m really angry,” she said.

A woman who gave her name as Michelle was also outraged. “I came for my son’s passport, we are supposed to go to China in June, but everything is closed. After the strike was over they were told to follow the news and reapply. I also need to apply for a visa. It’s stressful because I don’t know if we can get our documents in time. »

A New Crisis?

In an interview with Employment and Social Development Minister Karina Gould, “I have a lot of sympathy for the people who have applied for passports. The strike is expected to end soon.”

The issuance of passports is not considered an essential service under the law, except in emergency or humanitarian situations.

There is still hope for people who submitted their forms in person before the strike began. “If the passport is printed before midnight on Wednesday, they can pick it up,” Ms.^me Gould, in interview. If not, wait until the general strike is over. » You can check your application status online through email address.

Around 85,000 applications are piling up each week of the break, raising fears of a backlash from last year’s passport crisis.

“I don’t think we will be in the same situation because we are in a much better position with the capacity that we have in the system,” the minister explained. But – and this is a big but – it depends on how long the strike lasts. However, he notes that demand has declined since the start of the labor dispute.

Negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Treasury Board continued on Thursday. The union is demanding a 13.5% pay rise over three years, and the government is offering a 9% pay rise in return. Other points of contention include job security and the inclusion of telecommuting in the collective agreement.