ROTHENBURGER – A couple of hours in the life of Kamloops, at Service Canada

I EXPERIENCED a slice of Kamloops life in a different way today. It wasn’t at the park, a meeting, or a shopping mall. No, it came via a two hour and 45 minute wait at the Service Canada office on Seymour Street.

Apparently, the first Monday after the Christmas holiday season is the absolute worst time to drop in for service there. I didn’t know that.

After getting to the front of the triage line, the friendly staffer broke the news to me about the long wait. I chose to wait, though quite a number of other people gave up in disgust while I was ensconced in the waiting area.

One gentleman in the lineup expressed his determination to file a complaint. Against whom? I wondered. Everybody else in the place who should have known better than to show up on the same day he did?

“I’m Canadian!” one woman proclaimed loudly as she exited after being told of the bottleneck.

Myself, rationalizing that it wasn’t likely to be worse than sitting around an airport waiting for a connecting flight, I figured I may as well get it done.

There’s no such thing as privacy in this Service Canada office. Voices travel clearly from one end of it to the other. Thus, you’re going to learn more about other people’s business than you ever wanted to know.

A lot of travellers were there, like myself wanting to renew passports. Half of them never thought to go online to get the form and fill it out at home. Instead, they came in, were handed a form, and went on their way.

Others confessed to not knowing anything about computers and were patiently guided through what they needed to be done.

Two customers beside me in the waiting area chatted amiably about why they were there. One said she was planning a trip.

“Nice,” said her new friend. “Where are you going?”

“Hawaii,” said the other proudly. “I say, to heck with all this political stuff; I’m going to Hawaii!”

A while later, an almost identical conversation took place between two entirely different people, one of which was, yes, planning a trip to Hawaii. By now, I was gritting my teeth and staring at the floor in an effort to just shut up.

On my other side, a woman coughed and hacked incessantly for two hours. Please, I prayed (and I’m not the praying type), please don’t let me catch anything.

Meanwhile, over in the cubicles, staff members were helping people through whatever they needed, whether it be travel documents, pension questions, wills, CPP payments, permits or whatever. One very cheerful employee kept referring to each client as “Hon.” If she’d been a male I’m sure she would have been called on the carpet but she was unfailingly pleasant, patiently, even consolingly at times, guiding people through the processes for what they needed.

As we waited, a big-screen TV flashed informative messages about the various services provided and how to access them.

So many details of everyday life being taken care of, and I didn’t hear a single person there who didn’t receive the help needed. I imagine a lot of people get frustrated and impatient at the Service Canada office, but the staff was totally polite and helpful no matter what the demeanor of those who came in. It struck me, as I watched this little play unfold, that we truly do live in a great country.

Our democracy and our government provide us with a stupendous array of benefits and services. Of course, we are our democracy and we are our government, and we should be proud of the fact.

In so many other places in the world these days, people are left bereft of such civility and such support. We are indeed fortunate to live where we live.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.