February 22, 2024
UNE is proud to represent Passport Officers and the colossal work they do for Canadians each and every day. When the responsibility of the Passport Program was transferred to former Canada Immigration and Citizenship (CIC), now Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 2013, with service delivery to be delivered through the Employment and Social Development Canada’s Service Canada Initiative (ESDC), the employers claimed it was an efficient move to improve service delivery, but it has been anything but for our members. Eleven years on, Passport Officers continue to be lost in the shuffle and their work undervalued.
Shawn Walker, UNE Regional Vice-President, Outside Canada, will visit Passport Offices across the country to connect with members and to better understand their concerns. Shawn has been a member of the Passport Program since 2007. With several years at the national processing service, a brief time at the Certificate of Identity Office, and 9 years as a Passport Officer providing in-person service at the Ottawa regional office, Shawn now works at IRCC for passport. Shawn has been a Local executive of UNE Local 70130 since 2009; he has been a regional officer of PSAC-NCR, and is a graduate of the Union Development Program (UDP).
UNE wants to hear directly from the membership what workplace issues are at the forefront and how your union can help. The visits will take place in the Passport offices. UNE Passport members will also be able to meet and discuss with Shawn and the other UNE elected officers after work hours on the following dates:
Atlantic Visits
- February 27: Visit of the St. John’s Passport Office with UNE Regional Vice-President Gail Budgell, Atlantic
- February 28: Visit of the Halifax Passport Office with Gail
- February 29: Visit of the Fredericton Passport Office with UNE ARVP Elyse Jones, Atlantic
Prairies Visits
- March 12: Visit of the Regina’s Passport Office with UNE Regional Vice-President Gloria Pfeifer, Saskatchewan
- March 13: Visit of the Saskatoon Passport Office with Gloria
- March 14: Visit of the Calgary Passport Offices with Assistant Regional Vice-President Cookie Kerel, Alberta, N.W.T. and Nunavut
- March 15: Visit of the Edmonton Passport Office with Cookie
If you have any questions regarding these visits, you can send Shawn an email.