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Passports to nowhere |
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Written by Gerald Gauthier
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Friday, 28 November 2008 |
Canada Post insists its mail system is secure despite the fact four courier packages containing sensitive passport applications from Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have gone missing in transit in the past eight months.
In what may be a strange coincidence or possible evidence of co-ordinated thefts, Priority Courier packages destined for Passport Canada’s processing facility in Gatineau, Que. went missing on the same two dates after arriving at post offices in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Two packages — one from each city — went astray Nov. 3, and two earlier courier bags went missing March 27, The Herald has learned.
To date, postal inspectors have been unable to locate any of them. The bags contained passport and personal information of at least 60 people, including 45 from the Lethbridge area.
“In these instances, something has gone wrong. We don’t know where,” said Canada Post spokesman John Caines. “We’re trying to find these things. No one knows what happened at this point.”
He said he’s not aware of any similar incidents elsewhere in the country.
“We are very concerned about it, obviously. This is information that is very important to people. We recognize that.”
Even so, he said, “we have a very secure system. Two incidents don’t make you insecure.”
One of the recent applicants affected is a Lethbridge woman whose original birth certificate and other personal information has gone missing.
She’s worried her information may have fallen into the wrong hands, and she spoke to The Herald on the condition she be referred to by the alias, Janet.
“I don’t feel good about the fact they’re downplaying any other security risks to do with this,” she said. “I’m (wondering if) my identity is going to show up on a no-fly list as some terrorist.”
According to a Passport Canada official, however, the names of applicants whose information was lost have been red-flagged so any subsequent passport applications that may surface in their names would receive heightened scrutiny.
Personal information in the hands of criminals could potentially be used to fraudulently apply for credit cards or loans or to commit other kinds of identity theft, said Kristen Harding, spokesperson for Lethbridge regional police.
Janet submitted her passport application Oct. 30 at the Service Canada office in Lethbridge. When she called Passport Canada Nov. 20 to check on the status of her application, she was informed the agency had no record of its arrival in Gatineau. She then checked back with Service Canada officials in Lethbridge and was told only that once the courier package left their office, it became Passport Canada’s responsibility.
In frustration, Janet sought help early this week from the office of Lethbridge MP Rick Casson, where she was informed similar incidents had occurred last spring involving passport packages from Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Upon hearing her story, Casson said he notified officials within the ministries of Human Resources and Social Development, Foreign Affairs, and Transport Canada, which oversees Canada Post.
“The seriousness of this, in my mind, can’t be underplayed,” Casson said Friday. “We want some answers.
“How can this happen eight months apart to the same two cities?” he said. “I think Canada Post has got some work to do. From what I understand, they’re taking this as seriously as I am.”
Casson wouldn’t go so far as to suggest Passport Canada use another courier service while Canada Post is conducting its investigation and he expressed confidence in the postal system.
“I’m 99.9 per cent positive that the system is good,” he said. “I will not speculate on what’s happened here. I just hope and pray that the bags do show up somewhere in the Canada Post system.
“Certainly, if they’re not recovered, then it becomes a bigger issue.”
According to Canada Post, Priority Courier packages are tracked using bar codes which are scanned on arrival and departure at each handling facility along the way.
The latest Lethbridge package was picked up Oct. 31 at the local Service Canada office and was received at the Lethbridge post office Nov. 3. That’s where the trail disappears.
“That doesn’t mean that it didn’t move. It could be an instance where it didn’t get scanned (when it left the Lethbridge handling facility). I’m not saying that’s the case. We don’t know,” said Caines.
On the same date, a Passport Canada package in Medicine Hat similarly went astray.
The most recent package contained passport information for 19 Lethbridge area applicants. Information for 26 other local applicants went missing in March.
Passport Canada has been attempting to contact affected applicants over the past several days to advise them of the situation and provide assistance in expediting their passport applications, said agency spokesman Sebastien Bois.
Those affected will be reimbursed for any costs they incur to replace lost documents. Passport Canada is awaiting the results of Canada Post’s internal investigation and has no plans at this point to use alternative courier services, he added.
“If I was living in Lethbridge, I would go to Service Canada, and I wouldn’t worry about it,” Bois said. “I would still have trust in the way the system works.
“We receive more than five million applications, and it’s a rare, rare occurrence when those things happen,” he said, suggesting passport applicants have the option of sending their information themselves or visiting the agency’s Calgary office where applications are processed on-site.
Caines said Canada Post handles millions of items each day without incident.
“For this to happen once is a problem for us. For it to happen twice, it’s twice the issue, and we’re taking it very seriously,” he said. “We do apologize for any inconvenience our customers may experience because of this. We’re making every effort to find them.”
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 August 2009 )
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