Vol. 148, No. 27 — December 31, 2014
Registration
SOR/2014-309 December 12, 2014
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
Regulations Amending the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (Miscellaneous Program)
P.C. 2014-1464 December 12, 2014
His Excellency the Governor General in Council, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Treasury Board, pursuant to paragraph 19(1)(a) (see footnote a), section 19.2 (see footnote b) and subsection 23(2.1) (see footnote c) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote d), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (Miscellaneous Program).
REGULATIONS AMENDING THE PASSPORT AND OTHER TRAVEL DOCUMENT SERVICES FEES REGULATIONS (MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAM)
AMENDMENTS
1. (1) The definition “Passport Canada” in section 1 of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (see footnote 1) is repealed.
(2) Section 1 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“Minister”
« ministre »
“Minister” means the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
2. Subsection 2(3) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:
Fee for accelerated service
(3) If a government body exercising any of the functions listed in subsection 12(1) of the Canadian Passport Order is required to open one of its offices outside of that office’s normal business hours to perform one or more services set out in item 1 or 2 of the schedule within the time required by the person for whom the services are performed, the person must pay, in addition to any applicable fees, the fee set out in item 8 of the schedule.
3. (1) Paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:
- (b) any variation in the amounts incurred by the Minister that are payable to a government body, including a Crown corporation, for exercising any of the powers listed in subsection 12(1) of the Canadian Passport Order, as it read on November 30, 2012.
(2) Subsection 4(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:
Adjustment calculation
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the amount of the adjustment in respect of a given fiscal year is calculated during the preceding fiscal year and is the positive or negative amount, as the case may be, determined by the formula
[(A⁄B − C⁄D) × B⁄E] + [(F⁄G − H⁄I) × G⁄E] + J
where
- A is the total external cost incurred by the Minister to send passports and other travel documents in Canada by mail or courier in the reference year, in constant dollars;
- B is the total number of passports and other travel documents sent by the Minister by mail or courier in Canada in the reference year;
- C is the total external cost incurred by the Minister to send passports and other travel documents by mail or courier in Canada in the fiscal year preceding the reference year, in constant dollars;
- D is the total number of passports and other travel documents sent by the Minister by mail or courier in Canada in the fiscal year preceding the reference year;
- E is the total number of passports and other travel documents issued by the Minister in Canada in the reference year;
- F is the total external cost incurred by the Minister for the exercise of his or her functions by other government bodies in the reference year, in constant dollars;
- G is the total number of passports issued by the Minister in Canada in the reference year as a result of passport applications received by other government bodies;
- H is the total external cost incurred by the Minister for the exercise of his or her functions by other government bodies in the fiscal year preceding the reference year, in constant dollars;
- I is the total number of passports issued by the Minister in Canada in the fiscal year preceding the reference year as a result of passport applications received by other government bodies; and
- J is the total amount of all adjustments that would have been made since the base year, but for the application of subsection (4).
4. Sections 12 and 13 of the Regulations are repealed.
5. The portion of item 15 of the schedule to the Regulations in column 1 is replaced by the following:
| Item | Column 1 Service |
|---|---|
| 15. | Transfer of an application file for the issuance of a passport between the offices of government bodies exercising any of the functions listed in subsection 12(1) of the Canadian Passport Order within Canada |
6. The Regulations are amended by replacing “Passport Canada” with “the Minister” in the following provisions:
- (a) subsection 3(2); and
- (b) subsection 11(2).
7. The Regulations are amended by replacing “Passport Canada” with “the Minister” in the following provisions:
- (a) paragraph 4(1)(a);
- (b) subsections 6(1) and (2); and
- (c) subsection 11(1).
COMING INTO FORCE
8. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Issues
Following the transfer of the Passport Canada program from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), it has been determined that the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (the Regulations) do not align with the new responsibilities and functions of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
Background
Effective July 2, 2013, two Orders in Council transferred responsibility for Passport Canada from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, with domestic service delivery being provided by ESDC and overseas service delivery remaining with DFATD.
Objectives
The amendments are intended to align the Regulations with the July 2013 Orders in Council, thereby transferring the authority previously granted to Passport Canada to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
Description
The amendments add a new definition for “Minister,” which will be defined as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and all instances of “Passport Canada” in the Regulations will be amended to say “the Minister.”
Subsection 2(3) of the Regulations provides for a fee for accelerated service when a Passport Canada office is required to open outside of its normal business hours. The amendments replace the term “Passport Canada office” under subsection 2(3) of the Regulations with “a government body” to reflect the fact that different government organizations are now responsible for the activities of the Passport Program and services.
Section 4 of the Regulations sets out the formula to calculate adjustments to the passport fee and the factors that may influence the fee adjustments. Accordingly, in keeping with paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Regulations, fees are to be adjusted to take into account any variation in the amounts incurred by Passport Canada that are payable to a government body for exercising the powers listed in subsection 12(1) of the Canadian Passport Order. This subsection was intended to only refer to costs for the receiving agent service provided by Service Canada. This was a limited service whereby Canadians could present passport applications at certain Service Canada locations in lieu of a passport office.
Effective July 2, 2013, section 12 of the Canadian Passport Order was amended (SI/2013-57, section 8) to include the full range of services being provided by Service Canada under the new service delivery model in place as of July 2, 2013. To preserve the original intent to only include the cost of the receiving agent service rather than the cost of the full range of services (as per the amended Canadian Passport Order), the amendment adds a reference to the Canadian Passport Order “as it read on November 30, 2012.”
The schedule to the Regulations lists fees for certain services provided by Passport Canada. Item 15 of the schedule provides for fees for the transfer of an application (for the issuance of a passport) between Passport Canada’s issuing authorities within Canada. The amendment replaces “Passport Canada’s issuing authorities” under Item 15 of the schedule with “the offices of government bodies exercising any of the functions listed in subsection 12(1) of the Canadian Passport Order.” This is intended to reflect the fact that different government organizations are now responsible for the activities of the Passport Program and services.
The Regulations come into force upon registration.
“One-for-One” Rule
The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply, as these are technical amendments to the Regulations and will not add to the administrative burden on businesses.
Small business lens
The small business lens does not apply, as these are technical amendments to the Regulations and will not have an impact on small businesses.
Rationale
These amendments are purely technical and are required in order to align the Regulations with the decision to transfer responsibility for Passport Canada to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
There is no impact on stakeholders and there are no costs or financial benefits associated with these amendments.
Contact
Michelle Maragh
Passport Operational Coordination
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Telephone: 613-437-7386
- Footnote a
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6 - Footnote b
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6 - Footnote c
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 7(2) - Footnote d
R.S., c. F-11 - Footnote 1
SOR/2012-253