Canada Place closed due to flooding at downtown Edmonton building

Albertans trying to pick up rushed passports and deal with other things only available at the downtown Edmonton Service Canada site were out of luck Thursday because Canada Place was closed.

The federal building on Jasper Avenue is temporarily closed due to flooding and water damage. An employee told Global News they showed up for work and were told there was no heat in the building and staff were moved elsewhere for the time being.

Service Canada said its two offices in Canada Place are closed until Monday, Dec. 9, at 8:30 a.m. due to water damage.

“Due to a leak in the hot water system and the lack of heating in the building, Canada Place (9700 Jasper Avenue) is currently closed to both tenants and the public until further notice. Assessments are underway to determine the scope of the issue, as well as a timeline for repairs,” said a statement from the federal government.

While there are several Service Canada offices in Edmonton, the downtown passport office is the only site in the city where people can request (for an extra fee) urgent delivery (next business day), express delivery (two to nine business days) and delivery in 10 business days.

The normal wait time is more than 20 days with the passport being delivered via Canada Post — which isn’t an option now, amid the strike that’s gone on for the past three weeks.

Tanya Johnson and her daughter Chloe Kitchen showed up Thursday morning only to be told by security the building was closed.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Johnson has her passport already but Kitchen and her three sisters ordered rushed passports for an upcoming trip to Africa — they leave on a month-long visit to Zimbabwe in 10 days.

“We actually were here, what, three, two weeks ago? Johnson said. “I originally went to another Service Canada office and they said, ‘You can have it Dec. 30,’ and I said, ‘No, I need a faster than that.’ So we came up here.”

“We were here six hours. And then we come back today to pick up the passports and we can’t.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We were here six hours. And then we come back today to pick up the passports and we can't."

Thankfully the family lives in Edmonton so coming back another day isn’t a huge inconvenience compared to those who travel into the city from out of town.

View image in full screen

Ada Lawrence also has plans to travel outside of Canada with her husband. Getting downtown isn’t easy for the young mom, who said she has three-month-old twins and a toddler daughter.

Lawrence got an appointment notice to come to Canada Place on Thursday to apply for her passport so she arranged babysitting with her mom, only to arrive and find the doors closed and lights off.

“I got the confirmation yesterday to come in this morning and getting here, I was told that there’s been a major issue,” she said, adding she wishes Service Canada had sent out a notice about the closure she so she didn’t have to head downtown for nothing.

“It’s really frustrating because I have to come back again,” she said, adding the delay is stalling her travel plans.

A similar scenario occurred a decade ago in the downtown building, when in March 2014 a pipe burst on the fourth floor, causing flooding and water damage.

Service Canada said people who have applied at the Edmonton Service Canada Centre – passport services office and are waiting to pick up their passports can do so at the Edmonton Londonderry Service Canada Centre.

1:51 Albertans face long waits at Edmonton passport office: ‘It’s not my first early morning’

The three other Service Canada offices in Edmonton that can process non-urgent passport applications are located in the southeast inside Millbourne Market Mall, on the west end near 168th Street and 107th Avenue, and on the north side inside Londonderry Mall.

Those willing to drive can get a passport in 10 business days from the Red Deer Service Canada Centre, or even faster via Calgary Centre Service Canada Centre and Passport Services in that city’s downtown core, and Sundance Service Canada Centre and Passport Services on the south side of Calgary.