Ottawa biometrics screening for travellers to Canada

Ottawa’s expanded biometric screening program will cause further hassles for travelers and compromise privacy, say critics.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an injection of $312.6 million for expanding the existing program for all foreign nationals entering Canada on a visa by 2018.

All travellers from these 151 countries, whether they’re tourists, students, migrant workers, refugees or immigrants, must submit fingerprints and digital photos to Canadian authorities for screening in their visa applications, and be matched upon their arrival at ports of entry.

“Biometrics tools can be incredibly useful in authenticating identity at the border, but any uses of collected biometrics must be properly controlled and subject to strict privacy protocols, including in relation to use and access,” said Sukanya Pillay of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“We must not be so dazzled by new technologies that we forget basic privacy principles.”

The expanded screening program was among other new investments in enhancing border security announced by the government that included $137 million for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to combat terror threats and $10 million for Canada Revenue Agency to crack down on terror financing.

“We will make sure people are who they say they are, make sure the person who arrives in Canada is the same person who applied for the visa overseas, because you can fake your name, you can fake your documents, but you cannot fake your fingerprints,” Harper said in Toronto.

Ottawa first introduced biometrics requirements in 2013 against a handful of developing countries, but limited the screening to tourists, students and workers. The list has since grown to 29 nations, including Afghanistan and Vietnam. By 2018, the expanded list will include Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico and the Philippines.

Visa applicants’ fingerprints are searched against the RCMP’s fingerprint database of previous immigration applicants, refugee claimants, Canadian criminal records and deportees.

Upon arrival at the ports of entry, visitors are also screened through self-service kiosks for fingerprint verification.

Constitutional and immigration lawyer Barbara Jackman said the expansion of biometrics screening program is yet another reflection of the Conservative government’s “big-brother mentality.”

“The real problem is the people in some of these countries will not be able to get their biometrics information for their application. There’s no provision for people to bypass the requirements,” she said.

“It’s not like we’ve had a problem of terrorists overrunning this country without the biometrics screening. This is just another way for Canada to exclude people in certain countries from coming.”

Canadian officials plan to establish 180 biometrics collection service points in 94 countries, with an additional 135 centres across the United States for stopover visitors.

“This is a worrying expansion of our biometrics collection program for visitors. It raises some obvious and serious questions about how the information will be handled and who it will be shared with,” said NDP public safety critic Randal Garrison.

“That government policy is rolled out in campaign-style fashion is just more proof this move has everything to do with the upcoming election and little to do with the safety of Canadians.”

The prime minister denied the expanded use of biometric data would have a negative impact on foreign students and tour groups.

“This is going to be expanded vastly over the next four years. These services are robust and are easily available and accessible and don’t act as a barrier,” he said.

“As other countries who have instituted these services have, we will also have a fee comparable with other countries that will recoup much of the cost to Canadian taxpayers.”

Currently, each visa applicant is charged $85 for biometrics screening and families are charged $170 for the screening, on top of the visa processing fees. Authorities said collected fingerprints will be shared and matched against databases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.