January 5, 2014/ altair / Tourists Digest

Who doesn’t like traveling? We are getting exited before a new experience. Unfortunately, bad things happen to us now and then. “Expect unexpected” – wise proverb says. It’s very true if you travel abroad.

Canada has approximately 260 offices in 150 countries, including Canadian embassies, high commissions, consulates general, consulates, consulates headed by honorary consuls, Canadian cooperation offices, and other points of service. These offices provide different levels of service to Canadians traveling or living abroad.

It would be a good idea before going outside Canada check the List of Canadian Government Offices Abroad for contact information, including addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and Internet sites (where available). These offices provide assistance to Canadians during normal business hours.

You can find the List of Canadian Government Offices Abroad here: https://www.voyage.gc.ca/contact/offices-list_liste-bureaux-eng.asp

Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa

For emergency help during business hours, call your nearest embassy or consulate directly. Or you can contact the Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa anytime. The Emergency Operations Centre operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An experienced officer is always on hand to respond to emergency calls from anywhere in the world. You may be asked to leave a message. Please follow the instructions carefully. Under normal circumstances, an operations officer will get back to you within 15 minutes. However, this delay may be longer during large-scale emergencies.

Contacts:

• For calls originating in Canada and the United States, call 1-800-267-6788 or 613-944-6788.
• Canadian citizens outside Canada can call collect to 613-996-8885 (where available).
• You can communicate via TTY by calling 1-800-394-3472 (in Canada and the United States) or 613-944-1310.
• Some countries also have toll-free numbers to contact the Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa.
• You can reach the Centre by e-mail at sos@international.gc.ca.
• Or contact it by fax at 613-943-1054.

Stolen or lost passport

If a passport is lost or stolen abroad, you must report it to the nearest Canadian government office abroad, and local authorities.

Types of emergency financial assistance are provided by the Government of Canada

The Department of Justice Canada provides financial assistance to Canadians who are victims of violent crimes abroad, in situations of undue hardship where no other source of financial assistance is available. The specified crimes are homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, and assault with serious personal violence. Information on eligibility and the application process is available through the Department of Justice Canada’s Victims Fund, which is administered by the Policy Centre for Victim Issues.

The Canadian government will not pay for your return to Canada. However, Canadian government officials abroad will assist you in contacting relatives and friends to ask them to transfer money or airfare to you.

In certain emergency situations, if it is not possible to arrange for funds from a private source, a Canadian government office abroad can provide limited financial assistance in the form of a loan for a return trip to Canada. This service is offered only as a last resort and is subject to strict rules. A consular service fee of CAN$75 will be applied to this loan. The loan must be repaid as soon as possible upon you return to Canada. As a condition of the loan, you will be required to surrender your passport, which will not be returned or reissued until the loan is repaid in full. Such a loan carries an interest rate established by the Department of Finance Canada (Bank of Canada rate plus 3%). This interest cannot be waived and will be applied monthly until the debt is paid.

Financial assistance is not a right and depends on the circumstances of each case.

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