Fees for the Addition of an Observation to or for the Replacement of Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards and Citizenship Certificates Remission Order: SI/2021-24

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 11

Registration
SI/2021-24 May 26, 2021

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

P.C. 2021-399 May 14, 2021

His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada 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, pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) footnote a of the Financial Administration Act footnote b, makes the annexed Fees for the Addition of an Observation to or for the Replacement of Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards and Citizenship Certificates Remission Order.

Fees for the Addition of an Observation to or for the Replacement of Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards and Citizenship Certificates Remission Order

Interpretation

Meaning of refugee travel document

1 In this Order, refugee travel document means a 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 and Conditions

Certificate of identity or refugee travel document

2 Remission is granted of fees paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for the issuance of a certificate of identity or refugee travel document, if the following conditions are met:

Addition of observation

3 Remission is granted of fees paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for the addition of an observation in a passport or other travel document if the following conditions are met:

Travel document — consular services

4 Remission is granted of fees paid or payable under section 4 of the Consular Services Fees Regulations for the issuance of a travel document if the following conditions are met:

Permanent resident card

5 Remission is granted of fees paid or payable under subsections 308(1) and (2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for the processing of an application for a permanent resident card if the following conditions are met:

Certificate of citizenship

6 Remission is granted of fees paid or payable under subsection 31(1) of the Citizenship Regulations for an application for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met:

Coming into Force

Registration

7 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Administrator in Council, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act, has made the Fees for the Addition of an Observation to or for the Replacement of Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards and Citizenship Certificates Remission Order (the Remission Order).

Objective

The purpose of the Remission Order is to remit the fees related to

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced “X” as a sex and/or gender footnote 1 identifier option to better accommodate individuals who do not identify exclusively as female or male. Given that gender identity and expression are fundamental human rights, it was deemed unreasonable to collect fees from those holding an IRCC document displaying a binary (female or male) identifier and wishing to replace it with one that better reflects their gender identity, footnote 2 or from those who requested the addition of an observation label in their document, as that option was implemented as an interim measure.

The fees paid or payable by individuals who, between August 31, 2017, and June 4, 2019, requested the “X” observation label, and the fees paid or payable by those who, between June 4, 2019, and June 4, 2020, requested the replacement of their valid travel document, permanent resident card or citizenship certificate with one that displays an “X” are remitted under this Remission Order.

Background

Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, which received royal assent in June 2017, amended the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to protect against discrimination, hate propaganda and hate crimes on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. In support of Bill C-16 and a wider government effort to modernize the collection, use and display of sex and gender information, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) announced in August 2017 the introduction of an option to select “X” (another gender) as a third gender identifier in Canadian passports and other documents delivered by IRCC. This option aligned with a number of similar changes made to some provincial/territorial identity documents, and it reflects an increasing societal recognition of gender diversity. footnote 3 It is also consistent with the recommendations made in the Policy Direction to Modernize the Government of Canada's Sex and Gender Information Practices released in October 2018.

The Policy Direction to Modernize the Government of Canada's Sex and Gender Information Practices, released by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Justice Canada, contains recommendations around modernizing how the Government of Canada collects, uses and displays sex and gender information. An important principle of the policy direction is that sex and gender are separate personal characteristics: sex refers to biological characteristics, such as male, female or intersex; while gender refers to a social identity, such as man, woman, non-binary or two-spirit. The policy direction recommended that programs which require the collection of gender information should provide at least three gender identification options at the time of collection, with the third option being respectful and inclusive of non-binary and two-spirit people. The policy direction further clarifies that for display purposes, the corresponding identifiers in English and French are “M” (male), “F” (female) and “X” (another gender).

The “X” adheres to international standards on travel documents specifications, which are set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and is the only alternative to “F” and “M” for the mandatory sex field in travel documents. With this change, Canada is now one of 10 countries — including Australia and New Zealand — to offer “X” in travel documents.

Given the time required for IRCC to fully implement the change, the Minister announced interim measures until an “X” identifier could be printed in all documents. Under these measures, which took effect on August 31, 2017, and ended on June 4, 2019, individuals holding a travel document were able to request that a special observation label be added to their document indicating that while the sex field in the document displays an “F” or “M,” it should be read as “X.” The Minister also announced that the $45 fee that is usually collected for the addition of an observation label in travel documents would not be collected. Individuals holding a permanent resident card or citizenship certificate were also able to obtain a supplementary document indicating that the sex field in their status document should read as “X”; however, no fees were associated with this service.

On June 4, 2019, an “X” identifier became available as an option for travel documents, permanent resident cards and citizenship certificates. With the possibility of printing the “X” identifier directly in all documents, there was no longer a need to print observations to correct the identifier displayed on the data page of travel documents, or for supplementary documents to be issued to individuals holding citizenship certificates or permanent resident cards. As a result, the interim measures were discontinued.

A one-year grace period, from June 4, 2019, to June 4, 2020, was offered to individuals with a valid travel document, permanent resident card or citizenship certificate displaying an “F” or an “M” to obtain a reprinted document (with the same expiry date in the case of travel documents footnote 4) displaying an “X” at no cost. Since June 4, 2020, clients are able to request a document displaying an “X” identifier, but it is considered a new application, for which the normal application fee applies, and a new document is issued (with a new expiry date in the case of travel documents).

Implications

General implications

A remission order is required to extinguish any debt created in relation to fees that were not collected, but remain payable to the Crown (see subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act), in the absence of any other specific authority to remit such fees.

While the interim measures announced in August 2017, whereby the fee for the addition of an observation label in a travel document was not collected, have provided relief to individuals, the fee is still legally payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations.

For observation label requests, the Remission Order covers only the fees payable by individuals who have requested that the observation related to the “X” identifier be added to an already-issued travel document that has at least six months of remaining validity. The fee does not apply when the request is made in conjunction with an application for a new document. In order to be eligible for the fee waiver, individuals must have made their request for the observation on or after August 31, 2017, and before June 4, 2019.

A remission order is also required to remit fees for the replacement of a valid certificate of identify or refugee travel document, paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations, fees for the replacement of a permanent resident card, paid or payable under subsection 308(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and fees for the replacement of a citizenship certificate, paid or payable under subsection 31(1) of the Citizenship Regulations, respectively.

For document replacement requests, the Remission Order covers only fees paid or payable by individuals who requested the replacement of a valid refugee travel document, certificate of identity, permanent resident card or citizenship certificate. In the case of a refugee travel document or certificate of identity, it also had to have at least six months of remaining validity at the time of application, and the replacement document issued would bear the same expiry date as the original. Individuals had to have made their request on or after June 4, 2019, and before June 4, 2020.

The Remission Order also authorizes the refund of fees paid for either the specific observation or document replacements, should individuals with a legitimate claim for a refund be later identified. The noted conditions would need to be met, and such a request is unanticipated.

No fee is payable under the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for an application for the issuance of a Canadian passport with a validity period other than 5 or 10 years. As all requests for passport replacements were for those with a validity period other than 5 or 10 years, no fee was payable and therefore no remission order is required. However, a remission order is required in order to extinguish the debt for the consular fee of $25 that is levied on all adult travel documents on behalf of Global Affairs Canada (GAC) under the Consular Services Fees Regulations.

Financial implications

Table 1: Gender X — Interim measures
Total volume of requests for “X” observation in a passport, certificate of identity or refugee travel document Total volume of requests where a fee applies (applies only when an observation is requested for an already-issued valid document) Fee Foregone revenue
177 11 $45 $495
Table 2: Gender X — Document replacements during the one-year grace period
Document/services Total number of document replacement requests Fee Foregone revenue
Consular services (fee levied on adult passports) 243 $25 $6,075
Adult refugee travel document 3 $95 $285
Citizenship certificate 9 $75 $675
Permanent resident card 10 $50 $500
TOTAL 265 N/A $7,535
Table 3: Gender X — Total foregone revenue
Source of revenue Foregone revenue
Interim measures $495
Document replacement requests $7,535
TOTAL $8,030
Table 4: Gender X — Foregone revenue per department
Department Foregone revenue
IRCC $1,955
GAC $6,075
TOTAL $8,030

Accountability

All remissions, including the foregone revenue, associated with the Remission Order will be reported in the Public Accounts, as required by subsection 24(2) of the Financial Administration Act, as well as in the annual departmental report on fees, as required by the Service Fees Act.

The fee remission only applies to the addition of the special observation and to the document replacement applications related to the “X” identifier. It does not apply to other available observations (e.g. geographic restrictions or limited validity observations) or to other circumstances where document replacements may be sought. IRCC has access to electronic systems, which help track the number of clients who have requested this specific observation and document replacements. Government officials have verified that observations and replacement documents were issued only to individuals who were determined to be eligible based on holding a valid travel document, permanent resident card or citizenship certificate which, at the time of application, had at least six months of remaining validity.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

Without access to identity documents that reflect their gender, individuals who do not identify exclusively as “female” or “male” can face discrimination as well as difficulties accessing social services and obtaining employment. The introduction of “X” is expected to provide these persons with the individual freedom to choose an identifier that is more inclusive of their gender identity. This change contributes to advancing equality between persons of any gender, and is consistent with the view that gender should not be imposed and defined by others but — instead — be a matter of self-identification and personal definition.

The Remission Order is expected to have a direct impact on non-binary individuals within the LGBTQ2+ community. The remission was applied in respect of any requests made by eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Applicants have not been asked to demonstrate that they do not identify exclusively as “female” or “male” in order to be eligible for either the observation label or a document replacement. The observation label or document replacement was also available for children's documents, for which the applicant is an eligible parent or legal guardian.

Consultation

The Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board Secretariat, Finance Canada, Global Affairs Canada and the Department of Justice were consulted on this Remission Order. No concerns were raised about the remission of these fees.

Contact

Danielle Johnston
Acting Director
Passport Program Policy
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
180 Kent Street, 8th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Canada
Telephone: 613‑291‑1654