A pair of passport clinics are being held in Windsor-Essex next week, put on by two of the local MPs.
Windsor West MP Brian Masse, together with Service Canada will host a clinic on Thursday, October 13 at the Optimist Community Centre from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Over these past few months Masse's office has been receiving many passport enquiries and to answer constituent requests.
During the clinic, Service Canada passport agents will be present to process passport application requests or verify the status of a submitted application and/or answer questions.
Masse credits the staff for working through tough circumstances, and says we're lucky in this area to have opportunities like this unlike some communities where they have to fly to get their passports renewed.
"And it can cost you hundreds of dollars just to fly somewhere to get it done, whereas in Windsor we've always had really good service. They've been overwhelmed, but at the same time, give them credit because they're actually reaching out to try to help this more. And it's especially important in a cross-border community where we're starting to see more normalization."
Masse says the pandemic was a chaotic time, where many people couldn't travel and may have put off or just forgot that their passport was up for renewal.
He's hoping as many people as possible in need of updating their passport
"We'll have a couple of staff from Service Canada, my staff will be there, I'll be there and it'll be great. Because if we can help a few people get these passports, it's going to help both Canada and the United States. Having that connection, or if you're travelling abroad with an international city like Windsor where we have so many of relatives in Lebanon, or Italy, or other places we want to have those connections stay strong," he said.
Essex MP Chris Lewis will also be holding a passport clinic next week, his will be on Wednesday, October 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at his office located at 32 Victoria Avenue in Essex.
- with files from AM800's The Shift