An analysis by iPolitics of data on wait times at Service Canada Centres tabled in the House of Commons reveals that five of the 10 Service Canada centres with the worst wait times in the country are located in Calgary or Edmonton.
Harper isn’t the only member of cabinet with a problem in his own backyard. Of the 10 centres with the worst wait times, five are in ridings represented by Conservative cabinet ministers and two are in ridings represented by parliamentary secretaries.
Of the 10 centres with the worst wait times, eight are located in ridings represented by Conservative MPs while two are in ridings represented by Liberals. None of the 10 centres with the worst performance are located in NDP ridings.
Launched in 2006, Service Canada centres are designed to be a one-stop hub to allow Canadians to access federal government services from employment insurance claims and job listings to help with passports or Canada Pension Plan payments.
In the documents tabled in response to a question from Liberal MP Arnold Chan, Employment and Social Development Canada said the department’s service standard for in-person wait times is within 25 minutes, with a goal of meeting that standard 80 per cent of the time.
However, the data for 2013/14 reveals there is a wide range in just how long Canadians have to wait for service from one centre to the next. While some centres have long waits to even get to talk with a staff member, in 71 Service Canada centres the average wait was less than a minute.
The Edmonton Millbourne Service Canada centre, located in Conservative MP Mike Lake’s riding, has the worst wait times in the country. The average wait to be served was 35.2 minutes and the centre met its service standard only 43 per cent of the time.
Despite several attempts to reach him, Lake has not yet returned phone calls from iPolitics.
The Service Canada centre in Kentville, Nova Scotia, where Liberal Scott Brison is the MP, had the second worst performance in the country. On average you had to wait 32 minutes just to make it to the counter and it met its service standard only 53 per cent of the time.
Just behind it was the Calgary North Service Canada centre, which was located in Minister of State for Western Development Michelle Rempel’s riding. Those seeking government services had to wait on average 31.9 minutes to be served and it met the standard only 46 per cent of the time.
The Edmonton Hermitage Service Canada centre, located in Conservative Minister of State Tim Uppal’s riding had an average 30.7 minute wait while the Calgary East Service Canada centre in Conservative Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai’s riding had a wait of 30 minutes.
The Calgary South Service Canada centre in Harper’s own riding was the sixth worst in the country, with a wait time for service of 29.5 minutes. It met its service standard only 52 per cent of the time.
Less than a minute behind was the Toronto Lawrence Square Service Canada centre in Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s riding. Its wait time was 29.2 minutes and it only met the standard 50 per cent of the time.
Two Ottawa centres made it into the top 10. Located in Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger’s riding, the Ottawa East centre’s wait time of 28.3 minutes put it in eighth place while the Ottawa West centre in Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s riding had a wait time of 27.5 minutes, putting it in a tie for 10th place with the Edmonton Meadowlark centre in Conservative MP Laurie Hawn’s riding.
The Service Canada centre in Barrie was in ninth place with a wait time of 28.2 minutes. It is located in the riding of Conservative MP Patrick Brown, who plans to continue sitting as an MP while he runs for the leadership of the Ontario provincial Conservative Party.
Scott Brison, Liberal MP for the riding of Kings Hants where the Kentville centre is located, says the long wait times are a direct result of cost cutting by the Harper government and are making life more difficult for his constituents, who have already been hard hit by the economy.
“Based on this, we should call it Disservice Canada,” said Brison. “Despite assurances to the contrary, their cuts have resulted in a reduction in the quality of front line services.”
“Particularly since 2008, with higher unemployment and higher youth unemployment, the demands on Service Canada offices have increased but the resources have decreased.”
“This is not a recipe for success.”
Brison said a lot of constituents turn to his office to get help with government services they should be able to get at Service Canada.
“We have a heavy case load in our office of people who are seeking services and who call or come to our office to get services in a timely manner.”
Instead of cutting front line services, they should be investing more, said Brison, who plans to raise the issue.
Officials from Employment and Social Development Canada have yet to respond to questions first posed by iPolitics Friday including why some centres in Alberta have longer wait times than many other centres in the rest of the country.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics.ca/
Author: Elizabeth Thompson
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