Wildfire season: feds offering free document replacements [Video]

The federal government is promising to replace some official documents free of charge for Canadians impacted by this year’s wildfire season.

From now until Nov. 30, 2024, Canadian citizens and permanent residents “directly affected” by wildfires can access free replacement permanent resident cards, citizenship certificates, passports, “and other travel documents that are lost, damaged, destroyed or inaccessible due to wildfires,” according to a press release.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller wrote in the release Monday that the measure will “simplify the process” for those who have lost important official documents due to wildfires.

“This will give people the time they need to determine which documents need to be replaced or to sort out temporary status issues, while focusing on their families, their homes and their communities,” the release states.

The release also states some people with employer-specific work permits can “transition to an open work permit.”

The federal …