Canadian government says it is committed to biometric passports
The Canadian government first introduced the idea of a biometric passport in its 2008 budget, but implementation was delayed by questions over logistics, and how to cover costs; the government now say it is determined to move forward
European biometric passports // Source: kpk.org
Canada’s Conservative government has vowed to press ahead with biometric passports for Canadians, two years after first promising to adopt a more secure electronic travel document by 2011. A passport encrypted with biological information “will significantly improve security,” one of several measures previously promised and highlighted under the title of criminal justice and national security improvements in Wednesday’s throne speech.
The Star’s Tonda MacCharles writes that the implementation of a passport with encoded identification information, such as an iris scan, fingerprints, or facial recognition data was first promised in the 2008 federal budget, but was delayed by questions over logistics, and how to cover costs.
In 2008 the federal Conservatives said the passports, when introduced, would be valid for ten years —deemed too long by some for security reasons.
New Democrat public safety critic Joe Comartin said a biometric passport is “still of questionable value.” He said when a parliamentary committee last looked at it, accuracy rates of biometrics were considered 85 to 90 percent — “nowhere near what you want.” Proposed use of DNA technology also raised too many privacy concerns, he said.
