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The Office of Randy Hoback

Passport Clinics travelling to the northeast

Aug 25, 2023 | 5:20 PM

A handful of passport clinics will be arriving next week in the northeast, with stops in Melfort, Nipawin, Tisdale, and Shellbrook.

Member of Parliament Randy Hoback is responsible for the information sessions.

“A lot of the communities outside of Melfort or Prince Albert, they don’t have a Service Canada, and a lot of the smaller communities didn’t even have a photographer when we started, so we still bring them out. We do have a photographer on site, and we help the people who attend fill up their passport applications, take their photos, and then bring the applications back to Ottawa and submit them,” said Hoback’s office in a statement.

“It also helps because if you live in Nipawin, it’s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Saskatoon where Citizenship and Immigration have its offices, so if you forget something, you’re in trouble. If you forget any documents or your birth certificate, then they can’t process it, whereas if we’re there, then they can always run home if they forget something.”

Hoback’s office has been running these clinics since around 2008 or 2009, with this year being the first since before COVID.

With that time of the world passing, however, the office explained people are ready to travel again and this time of year is the perfect opportunity to hold these clinics.

“It’s summertime and a lot of people haven’t travelled in the past couple of years because of COVID, so this way, we can get their passports renewed if they want to travel either this fall or over the winter months,” they explained.

“It’s a service that we’ve offered for a while, it’s been very popular and we just continue to do it. We couldn’t during COVID, but we’re up and running again and we want to do it now.”

Passport Clinic dates, times and locations include:

  • Monday, August 28th – 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Nipawin Elks Hall, 310 1 Street West, Nipawin.
  • Tuesday, August 29th – 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Tisdale Civic Centre, 901 100 Street, Tisdale.
  • Wednesday, August 30th – 2:00 pm to 6:00 PM, Melfort Legion, 101 MacLeod Avenue East, Melfort.
  • Thursday, August 31st – 3:00 pm to 7:00 PM, Shellbrook Elks Hall, 103 Railway Avenue, Shellbrook.

Passport application forms can be downloaded at MPRandyHoback.ca/apps, as Passport Canada no longer prints them.

Passport prices are as follows: Adults (16+) 5 year – $120, 10 year – $160 and Children (Under 16) 5 year – $57, 10 year – N/A. Only a credit card, certified cheque or money order can be accepted for payment.

A photographer will be on-site, with the cost of the photo being $20 per person. The photographer will only accept cash to speed up the photo processing.

“We’ve had calls from these regions, as well as these areas asking us if we’re gonna hold them and August is a good time. Late August is a great time because the kids will be going back to school shortly, people are coming back, and a lot of them are shutting down their cabins and things,” added the office.

“It’s a great time to get out and provide the service to the constituency… we look forward to seeing everyone when we’re out and about.”

To register for the Passport Clinics, you can visit the office of Randy Hoback’s website.

news@northeastnow.com

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