Need a passport? Expect a long wait

Canadians have been liningupto apply for passports before a new rule requiring the documentsfor airtravel tothe United States takes effect.

Passport Canada says it is experiencing a high number of passport applications in all of its offices ahead of the Jan. 23 deadline.

In November alone, Passport Canada received more than 355,000 applications,about 91,000 more than the same time last year.

In Fredericton,the passport office has opened two waiting rooms to handle the load.

Mary-Anne Dewitt of Noonan was among 25 people lining up to get her paperwork done.

Dewitt said she should have put more money in her parking meter before joining the crowd.

"I opened the door at the passport office, and the security guard told me there was a waiting line and there was a second waiting room, and I thought, 'Oh boy, I'm going to get another parking ticket,'" she said, laughing.

Ellen Ringette of Saint John spent close to an hour sitting in the office's main waiting area, and said the mood insidewas tense.

"It was full when we got here, and it's still almost the same people. People are leaving, and coming back and going for little walks, and stuff, and there's not even enough chairs to sit in, so it's frustrating."

Sylvia McConkey from St. Stephen spent more than an hour and a half waiting to apply. She and her family will be travelling to Costa Rica in March.

McConkey said she expectedto wait,but Passport Canadashould be doing moreto make the line move faster.

"The people working there are doing a good job trying to get as many people through as possible. But all the booths aren't open, and if the federal government knows a lot of people are going to be applying for their passports, I believe they should have probably hired a few more people."

Passport Canada said people who don't have immediate travel plans should wait until the spring to apply.