Applications and envelopes are laid out when Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback and his staff help northeast residents with passport applications. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Passport Tour

Hoback’s passport tour continuing throughout the northeast

Aug 22, 2019 | 11:58 AM

Prince Albert’s Member of Parliament (MP) Randy Hoback is halfway through his passport and barbecue tour of Northeast Saskatchewan.

The passport tour has been an annual event for Hoback. He told northeastNOW the idea came to be when the United States required Canadian citizens to have passports in order to drive or fly across the border.

“We had a lot of people in the northeast that didn’t have passports and went down to the States and used their driver’s licence for their verification,” Hoback said. “When all that changed, we were hearing people complain about the fact they’d have to drive to Saskatoon, wait in line, and if they were missing a piece of ID or didn’t sign something, they basically spent the day for nothing and then had to come back, get everything fixed up, and go back to Saskatoon.”

Hoback said he, five staff members, and a few volunteers first held a passport clinic in Nipawin nearly eight years ago, where approximately 700 people lined up to get their passports renewed.

“Our eyes were as wide as pancakes,” he said. “It’s just one of those days where you’re overwhelmed, but we worked our way through it. We even had a glitch where the printer didn’t work for about two hours, so we had to buy a new printer for the photos.

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“People were very appreciative, so we decided if it worked that well in Nipawin, we’d do it in Melfort and Tisdale and we had the same types of results, and we’ve been doing it ever since.”

Instead of crowds of around 700, Hoback said he sees around 70 to 100 people show up – mostly young families, senior citizens, and people who are on expiring five-year passports – due to how many passport tours have been run and with the 10-year passport option. However, it’s evolved into a community event he and his staff can put on.

“We have a barbecue in front of it to say thank you for all the support this last year and it’s a chance for people to get together before harvest starts,” he said.

Hoback said the passport application process with his staff and volunteers takes around 15 to 20 minutes to complete. He’ll take the applications with him to Ottawa and he expects to be back with passports in four to six weeks.

The stops in Melfort, Nipawin, and Tisdale have been completed, although there are stops in Kinistino on Thursday, Aug. 22 and St. Louis on Friday, Aug. 23 from noon to 6 p.m.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow