It is all about licensing/threat of sanction for unethical behaviour. Postmasters and Principals are more "trustworthy" in Canada because the government can easily sanction them if they get caught being unethical. I'd be interested to know how big a problem this is/if this is a problem.
I looked up Bermuda on the Canada Consular Affairs Website. The consul there is honourary. The actual consular services are handled by one of the Canadian Consulates in the US, hence the same standards for Bermuda and the U.S.
Because we live in Canada, when Ric applied for his passport, having never lived in Canada before, finding a guarantor was difficult. We had to fill out an additional form, which the Passport Office was clear they did not like handing out. So, besides a guarantor (which was my immigration lawyer), we had to provide the names of 3 Canadian citizens living in Canada whom he had known for at least 2 years. Fortunately we had 3 and the Passport Office called all three of them. We asked my lawyer about this and he said that trafficking in Canadian passports was a concern both in Canada and the US, especially after 9/11.
I have to renew my US passport before I can apply for Canadian citizenship. I have until late 2007, so I have time, but I am dreading it. Going to the US Consulate in Montreal is painful--it is hard to find, all of the windows are blacked out and the entrance isn't really marked. If one has any type of bag, one has to pay the depanneur across the street to hold it. The security is a little hair-trigger and the last time Ric went he got a Republican-tinged rant from the consular official about the evils of taxation. The notion that our US taxes paid for her salary seemed to have been lost on her.
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Date: 2006-01-20 03:57 pm (UTC)I looked up Bermuda on the Canada Consular Affairs Website. The consul there is honourary. The actual consular services are handled by one of the Canadian Consulates in the US, hence the same standards for Bermuda and the U.S.
Because we live in Canada, when Ric applied for his passport, having never lived in Canada before, finding a guarantor was difficult. We had to fill out an additional form, which the Passport Office was clear they did not like handing out. So, besides a guarantor (which was my immigration lawyer), we had to provide the names of 3 Canadian citizens living in Canada whom he had known for at least 2 years. Fortunately we had 3 and the Passport Office called all three of them. We asked my lawyer about this and he said that trafficking in Canadian passports was a concern both in Canada and the US, especially after 9/11.
I have to renew my US passport before I can apply for Canadian citizenship. I have until late 2007, so I have time, but I am dreading it. Going to the US Consulate in Montreal is painful--it is hard to find, all of the windows are blacked out and the entrance isn't really marked. If one has any type of bag, one has to pay the depanneur across the street to hold it. The security is a little hair-trigger and the last time Ric went he got a Republican-tinged rant from the consular official about the evils of taxation. The notion that our US taxes paid for her salary seemed to have been lost on her.