This is from CBC. Maybe Foreign Affairs should charge CSIS for some of these costs since somehow or other some Canadian citizens end up in Syrian, Egyptian, and Sudanese jails on the basis of info from Canadian intelligence or other authorities and perhaps the consular authorities have some role in this. We won't be sure until the Iacobucci inquiry reports and perhaps not even then.
User fees too high
Passport fees have been too high because Foreign Affairs has overcharged for consular services, the auditor general reported, citing a $25 fee added into the $85 cost of an adult passport.
Fraser took the department to task for that fee, saying it collects more than it should, even though its own rules say it's supposed to break even.
The fee is designed to be a kind of travel insurance for Canadians abroad who might need protection or assistance because of accident, illness or natural disaster. It includes support in the event of arrest overseas.
But Fraser said Foreign Affairs piled in other costs when calculating the fee.
"Adult passport holders are, in effect, helping to cover the costs of activities that are outside the scope of what they would receive for the fee," she wrote.
The department agreed to review how it calculates the consular services fee.
No comments:
Post a Comment