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OTTAWA–Ottawa has quietly dropped plans to let the U.S. house a
database of personal information about Canadians who hold special
driver's licences used to cross the border.
The move follows criticism from federal and provincial privacy
commissioners, who have warned that any plan to attach detailed
personal information to ID cards could lead to abuse of the sensitive
data.
The office of federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart is still
wary of plans to share information on so-called enhanced driver's
licences with the United States, and stresses a passport is still the
ideal travel document for Canadians.
"All in all, we are pleased to see that they listened to some of our
recommendations, but we remain hopeful that they'll heed to many of
our other concerns," said Anne-Marie Hayden, a spokesperson for Stoddart.
As of June, under the U.S.'s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative,
everyone entering the U.S. must have a passport or ID card confirming
citizenship and identity.
British Columbia has launched a test project for the new licences, and
Ontario announced this month it will usher them in. The new cards
contain a radio frequency tag that can be scanned at the border,
transmitting a number that identifies the traveller, allowing the
agent to call up the person's information.
For people in Ontario without a driver's licence, special photo ID
cards will be introduced.
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