Ferguson was told the New Westminster location does not provide passports or assist with the application process. He says he then went to a local post office to fill out the paperwork and send it off. Ferguson admits that his first attempt was unsuccessful because of a mistake he made. . However, he quickly re-sent all the required documents, including his expired passport. Ferguson claims that package was lost by Canada Post, forcing him to fill out a lost passport application. “Another month went by and they said, Oh no, that’s not going to happen as it was an expired passport anyway. It’s questionable, you have to reapply all over again,” Ferguson said. After a third attempt, Ferguson says he received confirmation that Service Canada had received the application on February 16. He says he contacted them again in March and was told he could pick it up in Surrey in a few weeks. But that never happened. “In May, I got fed up and went to my MP and they said let’s take care of it and try to contact them,” Ferguson said. However, as of Saturday, Ferguson is still a man without a passport. “I never do anything, I never go anywhere, I never have fun” “I’ve never been so disappointed in my entire life, I love bawling my eyes out,” Ferguson said. While Ferguson chose the mail route, thousands of others have endured long lines, even waiting days at a time just to get inside a passport office. This week in Surrey, new screening measures were put in place to ease long queues and frustration. Those traveling within 48 hours are flown straight in. However, Ferguson says he is not willing to risk booking a trip without already having a passport. “It puts a kibosh on a trip in the U.S. or overseas, that’s for sure,” Ferguson said “I don’t know what the solution is, it’s just completely crazy.”
