The Rogers Outage Is Impacting Passport Offices & Here's What You Need To Know

If you’re a Montrealer hoping to travel, all that’s standing between you and your passport are lines that stretch overnight and a widespread outage that now seems to be affecting passport offices.

Earlier this morning, July 8, Rogers acknowledged issues affecting their networks, which have yet to be clearly identified or fixed. The service provider promised on Twitter to provide updates as the situation develops.

The ongoing Rogers service outage is already blocking many Canadians from operating phone, internet, and even banking systems. To add insult to some Montrealers' injuries, Passport Canada announced on Twitter that the outage is affecting their call centres and offices.

"Please note that the current Rogers outage is affecting some call centres and offices, including passport offices. We will update here once resolved. Thank you," Passport Canada wrote.

Passport Canada has yet to post an update clarifying the situation, but they promise to share a solution as soon as the problem is resolved.

After onerous wait times at the airport last month, the Canadian traveller can't seem to catch a break — and they're making it clear online.

One Twitter user lamented the long, painfully slow process of getting their child a passport this year. "We're supposed to get my stepson's passport today. We applied in February. We travel tomorrow."

Another user pointed out how difficult it is to reach Passport Canada during this outage, saying, "You are literally the only way for people to contact the passport program right now. [...] People are relying on you."

If we have to wait until the Rogers outage is over, based on last year’s similar outage in April, then some passport offices could be affected through the end of the workday.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.