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1989 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

Main Points

12.1 The Department of External Affairs provides protection and assistance to Canadians who live and travel abroad. The Department reports that Canadian missions abroad extended services to Canadian citizens on over 600,000 occasions in 1988 ranging from routine inquiries to situations involving illness, accident and death (paragraph 12.3).

12.2 In general, the Department of External Affairs' consular officers and staff provide these services in a dedicated way. We have identified a number of areas in the management process that, in our view, can be improved, which would enable the Department to better meet increasing demands for service in an environment of restraint (12.11):

  • The Department has not defined the range and extent of services to be provided in precise enough terms to ensure treatment of Canadians that is consistent and is perceived as fair and that also ensures the most effective use of resources at each post (12.16 to 12.27).
  • The Department's current deployment and training procedures do not provide assurance that officers with the appropriate experience and training are placed at posts where consular work is the most difficult (12.28 to 12.38).
  • The Department has not fully exploited the potential of its public awareness program for informing Canadians who travel abroad about potential dangers and about what services are, and are not, available abroad (12.39 to 12.44).
  • The use of honorary consuls is a less expensive way of providing certain services than establishing a regular mission. However, the Department has not clearly defined their consular responsibilities and does not adequately supervise their delivery of services (12.45 to 12.50).
  • The Department has not developed and kept up-to-date contingency plans for foreign crisis situations at all its medium-to-high risk posts (12.55 to 12.57).

Introduction

12.3 Consular services aim to assist Canadians outside Canada. The objective of consular services is to protect the interests of Canadians living and travelling abroad. The Department of External Affairs provides a wide range of services to help Canadian citizens outside Canada deal with problems where official assistance is required. Among these are issuing passports, notarizing documents, arranging for the transfer of funds to the destitute, helping the incapacitated return to Canada, ensuring that those detained or imprisoned abroad are treated fairly under local laws, and assisting with citizenship registration applications.

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12.4 Services are a joint responsibility. Consular services are provided by External Affairs through the Canadian Interests Abroad Program. They are the joint responsibility of the Consular and Immigration Affairs Bureau at headquarters and 105 posts abroad. Headquarters provides functional guidance to the posts on specific cases, develops guidelines, liaises with other government departments as necessary, and is responsible for training and the public awareness program. The delivery of consular services is carried out by consular officers and local staff at the posts and a growing number of honorary consuls, under the responsibility of heads of missions. The terms 'post' or 'mission' are used to refer to Canadian embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and consulates.

12.5 Direct costs are estimated at $14 million annually. The Department estimates the cost for these services, excluding headquarters overheads, at $14 million a year. The Department allocated 77 Canada-based person-years to the provision of consular services in 1988-89. To assist officers abroad, posts used locally-engaged staff for an equivalent of about 120 person-years. Over the past two years, the number of Canada-based person-years assigned from Ottawa to consular services abroad has decreased by almost 13 percent while the number assigned to trade, immigration, political relations and economic relations has remained virtually unchanged.

12.6 Program delivery environment is diverse. Service delivery is governed by international law, the social environment of each country, the number of Canadians living and travelling abroad, the number of Canadians of plural nationality, the demand for service by Canadians around the world, and the competition for resources within the Canadian Interests Abroad Program. A multilateral treaty, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, makes it possible for Canada and the other 150 signatories to assist their nationals abroad while respecting the sovereignty of other countries.

12.7 The needs of Canadians abroad and the demands placed on consular services within a country vary with the social and cultural differences between that country and Canada. Thus, the mix and amount of consular services can vary significantly from one post to another. For example, in some countries, prisoners get insufficient food because prison officials expect prisoners' families to supplement rations. Embassies must, therefore, arrange for food to be delivered to Canadian prisoners in these countries.

12.8 Many more Canadians are living and travelling abroad. Another important factor affecting the demand for consular services is the growing number of Canadians travelling or living abroad. The Department reports that in 1987 Canadians made 2.6 million trips to countries other than the United States, compared to 1.8 million trips in 1977. There are almost five million valid Canadian passports in circulation, an increase of 40 percent during the past five years. In 1982, the Department estimated that 1.5 million Canadians resided outside the country. In 1987, the Department reported that this estimate had risen to 3.0 million. Although their actual number is unknown, dual or plural nationals represent an important and growing percentage of these non-resident Canadians.

12.9 New patterns of international trade, tourism and development activities have drawn Canadians to previously remote corners of the world. Because these patterns create a demand for consular services worldwide, and because resources are constrained, the Department has supplemented its network of posts with 48 honorary consuls and a reciprocal consular agreement with Australia. The United Kingdom continues to provide some services to Canadians in certain localities where Canada is not officially represented.

12.10 Competing demands for consuls' time. Officers assigned to consular work abroad are usually required to do other departmental work; political and economic reporting, public affairs and cultural activities, or immigration work can often take precedence over consular duties. In addition, Foreign Service Officers are assigned to posts on a rotational basis, for a period of two to four years.

12.11 Consular work is demanding and varied, requiring well developed interpersonal skills and quick responses to complex situations. As well as helping Canadians in difficulty meet their physical and emotional needs, consuls and their staff must also handle, with tact and courtesy, demands for service that may be unreasonable or unrealistic. Canadians travelling or living abroad, and their families in Canada, often expect the Department to resolve any problems they encounter. Some consular cases become the object of intense media and political scrutiny and put considerable strain on already scarce resources. (See Exhibit 12.1)

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Audit Scope

12.12 We looked at the overall management of the consular activity, examining how the Department delivers consular services and how headquarters directs the posts as to the range and extent of services to offer. We assessed the mechanisms for ensuring that consular personnel assigned to difficult consular positions abroad had the appropriate experience and training. We also examined the public awareness program for consular services and the responsibilities and monitoring of honorary consuls.

12.13 We assessed how the responsibilities of consular services for contingency planning were carried out. We did not review the Department's management of actual foreign crises, nor did we assess the feasibility of the contingency plans. We examined the procedures for issuing passports at the posts. Our scope did not include an examination of the Passport Bureau or the issuance of passports in Canada.

12.14 We conducted our audit at External Affairs headquarters in Ottawa and at selected posts abroad. For comparative purposes, we reviewed policy direction to consular officers of three other countries whose attitudes toward their responsibilities to their citizens are reasonably similar to our own.

12.15 The Department had not done any internal audits in the areas within our audit scope or measured the effectiveness of consular activities during the past five years. A program evaluation of consular services was, however, under way in 1988-89. Although the results had not been documented, we were informed by the Department that its preliminary conclusions were consistent with ours.

Observations and Recommendations

The Range and Extent of Consular Services: A Need for More Specific Definition

12.16 The Department of External Affairs has developed consular guidelines which, in general terms, identify the protection and assistance services that its staff may provide to Canadians abroad. These guidelines, contained in a manual, are designed to give consular staff the flexibility to adapt departmental services to local conditions. The Department relies on the judgment of consular staff in interpreting these general guidelines to respond appropriately to the needs of Canadians in difficulty.

12.17 The Department, however, has not defined the range and extent of services to be provided in precise enough terms to ensure consistent treatment of Canadians that is perceived as fair, that provides for proper accountability, and that also ensures most effective use of resources at each post.

12.18 The need for consular services varies in number and complexity from country to country, there is continual rotation of personnel among dissimilar posts, and consular officers are assigned to many other responsibilities. Therefore, we expected that the Department would provide guidance to its consular staff at the missions by tailoring the range or types of services to be provided, and the extent or amount of each service, to the conditions at each post. We expected that each post would have a clear specification of the type and amount of service that were obligatory and the type and amount that were discretionary. For example, it would be useful to determine, by country, whether consular staff must visit Canadians detained by local authorities, how often they should visit imprisoned Canadians and what specific action must be taken when a Canadian is reported missing.

12.19 We recognize the need for some flexibility and discretion at missions. However, with only a general description of the range and extent of services to guide its consular staff, there is a risk that they will provide unnecessary services and neglect those that are needed, or that they will do too little or too much in individual cases. Complete reliance on the individual judgment of consular staff in interpreting the manual heightens the risk of inconsistent treatment of Canadians or treatment that is perceived as unfair. At present, consular staff decide on a case-by-case basis how much, if any, service should be provided.

12.20 Inconsistencies in services provided at posts. Our visits abroad confirmed that some services may not be appropriate for the posts to provide. For example, some missions provide assistance in private legal matters such as real estate transactions and lawsuits. Others were involved in returning purchases by tourists to vendors and translating private documents. Some missions act as a forwarding address for mail for Canadian travellers while others help tourists with their travel plans.

12.21 Our visits also confirmed that there were inexplicable variations among posts in the amount of service provided. For example, Canadians imprisoned in one country where conditions are viewed as good by the Department are visited once a month while those in another whose prisons are viewed as considerably harsher, and where Canadian prisoners have been allegedly abused by authorities, are visited once every 3 to 12 months. Similarly, posts have not established target delivery times for issuing passports. At one post that we visited, it took an average of one week to issue a passport while at another it took six weeks.

12.22 The case studies in Exhibits 12.2 and 12.3 illustrate how complete discretion in interpreting consular guidelines can lead to inconsistent or unfair treatment. These cases occurred during the past three years.

TWO VERY DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO INDIVIDUALS ASKING FOR HELP

The Department allows consular staff considerable discretion in interpreting guidelines when deciding how much help to provide Canadians in trouble. Case 1 is a situation where a Canadian in need of a medical evacuation was not helped at all. Case 2 shows how consular personnel did arrange a medical evacuation back to Canada.

Case 1

While on holiday with her family in a relatively remote region of a European country, a Canadian girl broke a leg when struck by a car. Two days after being admitted to the local hospital, the girl developed gangrene. Hospital officials informed the father that a medical evacuation to Canada might be required. He contacted the only airline that flew to that region and was told that an evacuation could not be accommodated. He then contacted the Canadian embassy. Consular staff informed him that it was not the responsibility of the embassy to help arrange medical evacuations.

Two weeks later, the girl's left foot and part of her calf were amputated.

Case 2

Authorities in a European country released a Canadian man from prison where he had served two years for drug trafficking. Using money loaned by the Canadian embassy, the man travelled to a second European country where, disoriented and agitated, he asked Canadian consular officials to repatriate him to Canada. Consular staff confirmed with local medical authorities that he was suffering from chronic hepatitis and bronchitis as well as an addiction to heroin.

While the man received local medical attention, consular staff requested and obtained Ottawa's approval for his medical evacuation to Canada. Consular staff in Ottawa made the necessary arrangements for the man to be admitted to hospital upon his arrival in Canada. Two weeks later, he was evacuated.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF TWO DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO CANADIANS IN NEED

The Department relies on its consular staff to decide when to help a Canadian in trouble abroad, based on their interpretation of the consular guidelines. Case 3 is a situation where they decided that no help was needed. In Case 4, consular staff decided that a Canadian family needed considerable assistance.

Case 3

Recently, local authorities in a European country informed the Canadian embassy that they had discovered an elderly Canadian woman with apparent psychiatric problems wandering through the international airport. She had been there for three days. She had no money and no return ticket to Canada. The authorities had admitted her to a convalescent home and asked the embassy to take responsibility for her. The embassy asked Ottawa for permission to repatriate her because of destitution. Consular staff in Ottawa, however, refused the repatriation request and forbade the post to spend any public funds on her behalf. They concluded that she was not destitute since she received a monthly pension of $800. They decided that because she had sold all her possessions in Canada and was originally an immigrant from the European country, she was the responsibility of foreign, not Canadian authorities. Despite her desire to return to Canada and the fact that she had not been a citizen of the European country for almost 40 years, Ottawa refused to help her.

Case 4

A few years ago, a Canadian family visited relatives in a remote region of an African country. Due to the illness of several relatives, the family stayed several months longer than intended and their landlord in Canada sold their household possessions to pay for rent in arrears. During this period, the husband's business failed and he returned to Canada to recover their possessions. A year and a half later, he asked the Department of External Affairs to help repatriate his wife and five children.

The consul from the nearest Canadian embassy travelled to the remote village where the woman and her children were staying. Concerned over the health and well-being of the children, the consul recommended to Ottawa that they be repatriated and Ottawa agreed. A second trip was made to the village to collect the family and bring them to the airport. Two years after they left for Africa, the family arrived back in Canada.

12.23 Improved accountability and decision-making. Besides ensuring more consistent and fairer treatment, mission-specific definitions of the range and extent of service would provide additional benefits. These include greater accountability, improved decision-making on allocation of resources and better ability to assess alternative delivery mechanisms.

12.24 A better definition of the range and extent of each of the consular services would also enable the Department to state the results it expected in more specific terms. This could provide a better basis for planning, assigning priorities and controlling service delivery at each post. It would also enhance measurement and monitoring by headquarters of consular services provided at posts. Only one post that we visited had a priority system for the delivery of services, and this had been established by the consul on his own initiative.

12.25 More clarity and specificity in the range and extent of services to be provided would enable the Department to better assess current and future demand and to plan how to use its resources most effectively to meet this demand in an environment of restraint. It would also provide the Department with a better basis for making decisions on alternative delivery mechanisms such as the cost-effectiveness of honorary consuls, reciprocal consular agreements with other countries, and fees for consular services.

12.26 While the Department has a number of mechanisms in place for managing consular services, these do not provide a satisfactory analytical basis for decisions on the right amount of resources to use, or on their distribution and location around the world. Our review of the Department's Consular Operations Management Information System revealed that it allows duplication, with the result that the actual number of consular cases and services dealt with by the Department may be significantly less than the number reported.

12.27 The Department should specify for each post the range and extent of the consular services that it will provide. It should determine, in response to local conditions, what type and amount of service are obligatory and what type and amount are discretionary.

Department's response: Agreed. The Manual of Consular Instructions and existing policy documents provide the general guidelines and framework to those performing consular functions at headquarters and abroad. To accommodate local conditions, missions abroad will be requested to better define through the annual mission planning exercise the range and extent of services to be provided.

Deployment and Training of Consular Personnel

12.28 The Department stresses the importance of individual judgment and common sense when consular personnel are called on to exercise discretion. Provision of consular services, nonetheless, requires experience and special skills, for instance when a consular officer reviews documentation for passport and citizenship applications or assists the next-of-kin of a deceased person.

12.29 It is therefore important that the Department assess carefully the experience, skills and other requirements of consular positions and match these with appropriately experienced and trained staff.

12.30 The Department's current deployment and training procedures do not ensure that officers with the appropriate experience and training are placed in key consular positions at the posts.

12.31 Lack of appropriate experience and skills. To test deployment and training, we asked the Department to identify the 12 posts where consular work was the most difficult. We expected to find experienced and trained officers managing consular services at these missions. Our analysis, however, revealed that 6 of the 12 officers in charge had no previous experience in consular work; in fact, 4 were on their first posting abroad. Moreover, half of them had not received the consular training course offered by the Department. Although many of the inexperienced officers were supported by experienced local staff or Foreign Service Officers with other responsibilities, we believe that an improvement in the Department's deployment practices is required.

12.32 Consular work is normally assigned to officers in the political/economic career stream of the Foreign Service. Our examination of deployment at these 12 posts suggests that this stream is not providing a steady and reliable supply of appropriately experienced and trained officers for these particularly difficult jobs. This appears to be partly due to the view within the Department that consular work is unrewarding. In a highly competitive service, where excellence in political and economic work is particularly prized and rewarded, there is not considered to be a clear path to advancement through consular assignments.

12.33 The perpetuation of this situation could impair the quality of services to the public, accentuate differences in levels of service between posts and harm employee motivation and morale. In the long run, the quality of the Department's consular services is likely to suffer, along with its reputation, if it does not provide better career opportunities for personnel doing this sort of work and if it does not increase the prominence of consular services within the Department.

12.34 The Department has recognized this problem for many years, and several studies have addressed the need to deploy personnel who are experienced in, and committed to, consular work. As yet, no significant action has been taken.

12.35 Need to improve training. The consular training course is aimed at anyone who will be assigned to consular work, whether only occasionally or on a full-time basis. It covers legislation and international agreements, passports, citizenship and assistance to Canadians, and also touches on behavioural skills.

12.36 While we recognize that the range of subjects covered in this training course is basically satisfactory, it does not meet the needs of officers being posted to the principal consular position at most posts abroad. Some officers doing consular work at the missions and some of their supervisors have observed that the course is not adequate. It does not treat some subjects, such as fraud detection in the review of proof of citizenship, in sufficient depth. On the other hand, according to a departmental study, the course is longer than necessary for the numerous employees who take it who will be only marginally involved in consular activities.

12.37 The Department should implement human resources plans that ensure that experienced and trained officers are assigned to consular positions improve the career opportunities of personnel doing consular work, and increase the prominence of consular services within the Department.

12.38 The Department should revise its consular training for personnel assigned abroad to ensure that it meets both the general and specific requirements of the positions to be filled.

Department's response: We concur. The Department fully recognizes the importance of assigning experienced and trained Consular Officers to consular positions and, to this end, is looking at ways to improve the career prospects of personnel doing consular work.

The Department will diversify its training courses for personnel assigned abroad so as to better adapt them to the needs of the positions they are to fill. It will provide a short course to those who will be doing consular work only occasionally and a longer course to those who will be doing mainly consular work.

Public Awareness: Room for Improvement

12.39 The Department conducts public awareness activities to inform Canadians who travel abroad about potential dangers and about the limits to what the federal government can do for them if they get into trouble. It distributes approximately 700,000 copies of a travel information booklet, Bon Voyage... But, with passports issued in Canada and to interested groups on request. The Department also places advertisements in certain travel magazines aimed at travelling Canadians, warning them about smuggling or using drugs while abroad. In addition, many missions produce local tip-sheets on their own initiative which they distribute to tourists.

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12.40 In spite of these activities, the Department has not fully exploited the public awareness program's potential to inform Canadians about the dangers of travelling abroad and reduce extra workload at posts. We expected that it would have defined the target groups and ensured that appropriate information is communicated to each group.

12.41 Limited distribution of travel information. The Department's current public awareness activities do not reach a large enough segment of the travelling public. The travel information booklet does not reach individual Canadians and tour groups who travel to countries where a passport is not required, such as the United States, Mexico and many Caribbean islands. These countries are the destination of a vast majority of Canadian travellers. The tip-sheets for tourists are only given out to people who visit the missions.

12.42 Need to define and reach target groups. The Department has not identified specific target groups for its public awareness activities and assessed whether the appropriate information is being communicated to each group. In addition, the Department has not assessed the effectiveness of relying on the booklet alone to reach the objectives of its public awareness activities. While we recognize the primary responsibility of travellers to inform themselves of the hazards of travelling and various requirements of other countries, their failure to do so can cause them serious problems and create extra work for the posts abroad. In parts of Asia, we observed instances of workload generated by Canadians who were unaware of local visa and passport regulations.

12.43 Increased public awareness would have at least two important effects. Informed travellers would be less likely to need certain kinds of assistance, thereby saving both the Department and themselves time. Also, the public would have more realistic expectations regarding what services the Department can and cannot provide. The significant workload of posts related to requests for information on where to eat and shop, whether the post will make travel arrangements and where to find a job, would be reduced.

12.44 The Department should define the target groups for its public awareness program and ensure that appropriate information is communicated to each group.

Department's response: As soon as human and financial resources can be made available, the Department intends to better define the target groups for its public awareness program and ensure that appropriate information is communicated well.

Honorary Consuls

12.45 Honorary consuls are private individuals who generally provide emergency consular services on a part-time basis to Canadians abroad. They are not expected to deliver the same range and extent of services that missions provide. Canadian posts are responsible for supervising the honorary consuls in their respective jurisdictions. The use of honorary consuls is an inexpensive way to provide certain services in areas of the world where Canada has no regular diplomatic or consular representation. It is less expensive than establishing a regular diplomatic mission or extending services from such a mission to a remote area. In response to budget cutbacks, the Department has increased the number of honorary consuls from 24 in 1984 to 48 in 1989. Many countries make use of the honorary consul system, which is governed internationally by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

12.46 Need to define duties and responsibilities. Honorary consuls work in locations remote from the supervising post, without the benefit of its direct support. Therefore, there is a need for the Department to ensure that expectations concerning the delivery of consular services are spelled out for each of them, that their duties are specifically described, and that their activities are adequately supervised by the posts.

12.47 We observed that, to a large extent, many honorary consuls were left to determine their own responsibilities and the extent of service they will provide. The main risk is inconsistent or unfair treatment of Canadians. As far back as 1983, the Department recognized the need to delineate the responsibilities, duties and prerogatives of its honorary consuls. As their number increases, especially in areas visited by large numbers of Canadians, so do the risks associated with leaving their responsibilities ill-defined.

12.48 Irregular monitoring of honorary consuls. Management monitoring of the activities of honorary consuls does not compensate for the lack of clear specification of duties. Important aspects of a post's supervision of the honorary consuls in its jurisdiction are periodic visits by post staff, monthly reporting, and annual appraisals. We noted that visits were in fact infrequent and that some honorary consuls were not visited for two to three years at a time. Monthly reports contain only information on numbers of cases and hours spent on them. Without defined expectations and duties, the relevance and usefulness of annual appraisals are weakened.

12.49 Risks of exceeding authority. Without clear guidance or adequate field monitoring by the missions, the autonomy of the honorary consuls is such that they may easily exceed their authority. During our visits at posts, we were told that honorary consuls have in certain instances failed to report consular cases to the supervising missions, have refused to take direction from anyone other than the head of post, or have preferred to deal directly with headquarters or with individuals in Canada, bypassing the normal reporting relationship with the mission.

12.50 We also noted instances of honorary consuls exceeding their responsibilities in relation to another mission program. For many years, the Department has been concerned about their involvement in cases of immigration to Canada, yet we noted instances where they were still intervening in these cases.

12.51 Status of "unofficial consular representatives" raises a legal question. Certain missions have hired individuals, called "unofficial consular representatives", to perform the same functions as honorary consuls. In doing so, the Department has entered into contractual relationships of questionable legality. The Act of Parliament that provides the funds for honorary consuls requires that they be appointed by Order-in-Council. The Department has not obtained such approval.

12.52 Giving status to these unofficial representatives to deliver consular services may also violate the international treaty governing consular relations. The Vienna Convention requires that receiving nations must consent to the establishment of consular posts within their borders. The Department has not requested or received the permission of the countries where it has established unofficial consular representatives. The Government of Canada, on the other hand, relies on the other signatory countries to observe the Convention.

12.53 The Department should clearly define the consular responsibilities of honorary consuls and ensure that their delivery of services is monitored.

12.54 The Department should ensure the legality of the hiring and status of "unofficial consular representatives".

Department's response: The responsibilities of honorary consuls are defined in chapter XI of the Manual of Consular Instructions. The letter of appointment sent to each new honorary consul on the occasion of his nomination provides the framework for defining more precisely and in more detail the honorary consul's responsibilities. Heads of mission will be instructed to use this letter, as well as other means, to better define the duties of honorary consuls under their jurisdiction.

Heads of mission will also be reminded of the importance of exercising proper supervision of honorary consuls to ensure an improved delivery of services.

To avoid ambiguity that existed concerning the legality of the status of the unofficial consular representatives, the Department has decided not to renew the contracts of its seven "unofficial consular representatives" abroad. Consular services in these localities will be provided by other means, including, when necessary, the appointment of honorary consuls.

Contingency Planning for Crises Abroad: Many Missions had No Plans

12.55 Canada's missions are required to provide protection and assistance to Canadians during foreign crises such as civil disorders or natural disasters. It is a consular responsibility to develop contingency plans. During an actual crisis abroad, these plans are intended to serve as a basis for informed decision-making by the head of post and headquarters.

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12.56 Contrary to departmental requirements that there be a plan for every post, we found that 7 posts out of 33 considered by headquarters as currently facing a medium-to-high risk of a local crisis did not have contingency plans. Over one-third of the remaining missions considered as facing a low risk did not have contingency plans. Recent events in Asia show how quickly a crisis can develop in a country thought to pose little or no risk of civil disorder and, therefore, the importance of developing plans at all posts. For the posts that had developed plans, many were out of date.

12.57 The Department should develop and keep at its posts up-to-date contingency plans that are appropriate to the risk of crisis at each post.

Department's response: The Department agrees that contingency planning is an important element of the consular program. The seven (7) missions identified are all in the advanced stages of the process of completing their contingency plans. The Department will also ensure that all contingency plans are reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Passports Issued by Posts

12.58 Consular officers are responsible for issuing passports, on request, to Canadians who live or travel abroad. In 1988, of the 1,100,000 passports produced, 69,000 were issued abroad. New passports represented 90 percent of those issued abroad, while the remainder were replacements for passports that had been reported lost or stolen.

12.59 Canadian passports can be of great value to foreigners who seek illegal entry into Canada and to others who intend to use them for illegal purposes such as drug smuggling. Some will try to obtain a valid passport through fraudulent documents showing Canadian citizenship; some will try to purchase false passports on the black market. The Department emphasizes that the concern for security must be balanced with cost and the need for expeditious issuance of passports to Canadians. However, it is important that security not be compromised.

12.60 A number of gaps in current control procedures at posts combine to increase the risk of issuing passports to ineligible persons. Current passport procedures require that each applicant submit an application form signed by a guarantor and accompanied by proof of Canadian citizenship, usually a Canadian citizenship certificate or a birth certificate. Validation of the proof of Canadian citizenship and independent assurance of the identity of the applicant are critical in verifying passport applications.

12.61 The Department has put in place at posts abroad various procedures such as a passport control list and a list of valid passports. Moreover, each post has copes of specimens of provincial birth certificates with which it can compare the birth certificate presented by the applicant. In doubtful cases consular officers send a telex to Ottawa requesting additional information.

12.62 During our visits to posts we observed gaps in the passport control procedures. These raise the question of whether security may have been compromised. The gaps were brought to the attention of the Department.

12.63 At the time we completed the audit, the Department had not assessed the risks associated with the gaps. Consular officials told us that these deficiencies are compounded by the fact that, in Canada, passport databases are not tied in with citizenship or immigration databases.

12.64 The Department of External Affairs, in consultation with other appropriate government agencies, should assess whether the current passport control procedures at posts abroad pose an unacceptable risk of passports being issued to ineligible persons.

Department's response: The Department agrees.