Given that he had just travelled in Asia for three weeks and never had his passport questioned, Mr. Levesque was astonished airline staff would prevent him from returning.

"I said there was no way that it wouldn't be accepted and asked to speak to the supervisor," Mr. Levesque recalled. The airline supervisor refused to let Mr. Levesque on his flight, even after Canadian immigration officials at Pearson said the passport was still usable because it scanned and was readable.

"He didn't care that I was going to a funeral. He told me you might as well book a room. You can go to the passport office in the morning. You might be there by Thursday," Mr. Levesque said.