Vol. 143, No. 14 — July 8, 2009

Registration

SI/2009-56 July 8, 2009

OTHER THAN STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Order Amending the Canadian Passport Order

P.C. 2009-992 June 18, 2009

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, hereby makes the annexed Order Amending the Canadian Passport Order.

ORDER AMENDING THE CANADIAN PASSPORT ORDER

1. The definition “Passport Canada” in section 2 of the Canadian Passport Order (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

“Passport Canada” means a section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, wherever located, that has been charged by the Minister with the issuing, refusal of the issuance, revoking, withholding, recovery and use of passports, including the refusal and withholding of any passport services; (Passeport Canada)

2. The Order is amended by adding the following after section 10.1:

10.2 The authority to make a decision to refuse or revoke a passport under this Order includes the authority to impose a period of withheld passport service.

10.3 If a passport issued to a person has expired but could have been revoked under any of the grounds set out in sections 10 and 10.1 if it had not expired, Passport Canada or the Minister, as the case may be, may impose a period of withheld passport service on those same grounds if the facts that could otherwise have led to the revocation of the passport occurred before its expiry date.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Sections 10.2 and 10.3 have been added to the Canadian Passport Order (the Order) to explain the circumstances in which passport services may be withheld by Passport Canada or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Passport services are typically withheld in cases in which it has been established that an individual committed fraud in applying for, or abused or misused, a travel document, and is integral to Passport Canada’s efforts to ensure the security and integrity of the Canadian passport.

Section 10.2 clarifies that the authority to withhold passport services exists if a decision to refuse or revoke a passport is made under the Order. The grounds to refuse or revoke a passport are established in sections 9 through 10.1 of the Order. A passport may be refused, for example, if an applicant has supported their passport application with false or misleading information. Circumstances that would lead to a decision to revoke a passport include if a passport bearer has used their passport to assist them in committing an indictable offence or if the bearer has permitted another person to use their passport. A period of withheld passport service may be attached to a decision to refuse or revoke. Section 10.3 provides that the authority also exists in cases in which a decision to revoke a passport could have been taken, but was not, because the passport had expired.

The inclusion of a period of withheld service following a decision to refuse or revoke a passport is undertaken to support and give meaning to the decision. Without this provision, the applicant or passport bearer could immediately reapply for passport service, which would have the effect of nullifying the decision. If grounds exist to revoke a passport but the passport has expired, section 10.3 enables Passport Canada to apply a period of withheld service that would have otherwise applied if the passport had not expired.

Service may be withheld for a period of up to five years. Details pertaining to the five-year period are provided on Passport Canada’s Web site at www.ppt.gc.ca.

Footnote 1
SI/81-86

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