Passport Canada announced a new guarantor policy on 1 October 2007 that allows most adult Canadian passport holders to act as guarantors for new applicants. The simplified policy releases doctors (and other professionals) from the responsibility of acting as guarantors for patients, and allows Passport Canada to verify guar­antor information from its own database instead of through occupational directories. 

Despite available information on the new policy, some applicants are either uninformed about the new process or continue to approach their physician out of habit when applying for or renewing their passports. Physicians can feel comfortable in turning down guarantor requests should they no longer wish to provide this service, as patients can now approach a friend or family member holding a valid passport to act as a guarantor. 

More detailed information on the new guarantor policy is available on the Passport Canada website: www.ppt.gc.ca [9].