OTTAWA — One of Canada's most respected assets — our passport — is under siege, with more than 1,000 stolen across the country every month on average, Passport Canada has revealed.
The surprising disclosure was made in the agency's latest annual report, which says 13,077 passports were stolen in fiscal 2009-10. By comparison, only 631 were swiped overseas. Another 47,704 passports were reported lost in Canada.
Before 2006, about 25,000 passports were reportedly lost or stolen annually. That number jumped to almost 43,000 in 2006-07, coinciding with a surge in demand because of new U.S. passport requirements for Canadian and other western travellers. By 2008-09, it was 53,000. Now, it's hit 60,781.
But only in the latest annual report has Passport Canada broken down the combined "lost and stolen" total and publicly revealed the extent of the theft problem.
Passport Canada officials, operating under the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, say the number of passports lost or stolen is quite low in proportion to the total number of valid passports in circulation.
"While it may appear to be rising, the number of lost/stolen passports has remained quite static in proportion to the total number of valid passports in circulation over the last three years," Beatrice Fenlon, spokeswoman for Passport Canada, said in an email response provided to Postmedia News.
In 2009-10, the total number of passports reported lost or stolen was 60,781, which represents 0.3205 per cent of the 18,962,745 passports in circulation as of April 2010, Fenlon wrote.
In 2008-09, the number of passports reported lost or stolen was 53,515, which represents 0.3145 per cent of the 17,015,462 passports in circulation as of April 2009.
And the year before that, 51,915 of the 15,515,042 passports in circulation were reported lost/stolen, representing 0.3346 per cent of the total.
"Over the last three years, the number of passports reported lost/stolen has remained consistent at about 0.3 per cent (of the total number of valid passports)," Fenlon said.
However, the RCMP believes those missing passports are a national security concern because of their potential use by terrorists or other criminals.
A 2006 RCMP memo to then-public safety minister Stockwell Day said about 50,000 Canadian passports lost or stolen in the four previous years were suspected of falling into the hands of criminals or terrorists.
A primary concern is identity theft, one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world. In Canada, identity theft is estimated to cost the economy $2 billion annually.
In late 2009, an RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team raided dozens of locations around Montreal and Toronto — including three daycare centres — and smashed what police said was a vast criminal network specializing in forging passports and other official documents. Police said bona fide passports "obtained through various means" were forged to create new identities.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says terrorist groups rely, to some degree, on crimes including passport forgery to raise money.
CSIS director Richard Fadden told a parliamentary committee last summer that foreign spies value the Canadian passport, too.
"I think one of the reasons that Canada's so attractive is that we're so well-viewed around the world, and our passports are accepted virtually anywhere, so there is a level of concern," he said.
What's more, federal officials say confidence in Canadian passports — that the bearer is who he says he is — is critical to trade, the economy and international travel.
Passport Canada, at the urging of former federal auditor general Sheila Fraser, has implemented a number of security measures in recent years, including quick notification about lost and stolen passports to the national police information database, Canada Border Services Agency, Citizenship and Immigration and, through the RCMP, Interpol.
Fenlon said when informed that a passport has been stolen or lost, Passport Canada immediately invalidates the passport within its system and the Canadian Police Information Centre, and communicates the information to other agencies with which it has information-sharing agreements, including Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency.
"In many cases the passports do 'turn up' — whether the bearer finds it or someone else who then turns it in to the authorities. For example, someone who finds a purse (and the passport is inside) may return it to their nearest police station," she said.
All passports reported lost or stolen that are returned to Passport Canada are sent to its security bureau for inspection and destruction. Once a passport has been reported lost or stolen it is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. This is to ensure that it is not used for fraudulent purposes, Fenlon said.
"Before a lost or stolen document can be replaced, Passport Canada conducts an investigation into the circumstances. This may lead to delays in processing the replacement passport," she said.
A replacement passport, which may only be valid for a limited period, may be authorized if strict requirements are met. These include the submission of a statutory declaration concerning the lost or stolen passport.
More than 4.8 million Canadian passports were issued in 2009, a 137-per-cent increase since 2000-01. Late next year, Passport Canada is to be begin distributing electronic passports to the general public. The ePassports feature biometric and holographic security measures to combat tampering and fraud.
Ottawa Citizen, with files from Postmedia News.
