Canada hosts world's first dual biometric airport ID system

For employees of the airports.

Now this I find a bit amusing as this all comes on the heels of 911...which as we all are told was carried out, not by employees of the airlines but by passengers.

It's my opinion that this isn't just a test of the effectiveness of the system to track people on the payroll of our major airports but to test the acceptance by the general public.

France has Biometric IDs.

The UK has Biometric IDs.

Japan has them and is urging all foreign travelers to accept that they may be required to have them as well in order to enter the country...

Many more countries are getting on the bandwagon in a scary way.
The US is trying desperately to get the public to adopt the biometric IDs and are pushing it on Canada as well.

Canada is working hard on the implementation starting with airports and then the Border....

The Biometric Id Cards have been in place in BC since 2003/4 at Vancouver International and Kelowna's airports, and being implemented at other airports Canada wide.

The airports that will be using the cards are:

Calgary International; Charlottetown; Edmonton International; Fredericton; Gander International; Halifax International; Iqaluit; Kelowna International; London International; Moncton International; Montreal, Pierre Elliott Trudeau International and Mirabel International; Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International; Prince George; Quebec City, Jean Lesage International; Regina; Saint John; St. John's International; Saskatoon, John G. Diefenbaker International; Greater Sudbury; Thunder Bay International; Toronto, City Centre and Lester B. Pearson International; Vancouver International; Victoria International; Whitehorse; Windsor, Ont.; Winnipeg International; Yellowknife.

The proposed amendments to the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations will be published Saturday, starting a 15-day period for comments.

The government hopes to issue the cards by Dec. 31.

See these articles as well:

National ID Cards for Canadians from 2003

Here's a great article on Biometrics :
Biometrics


Biometrics is everywhere it seems and it is only a matter of time before it is mandatory for each and every Canadian to have one of these Biometric National ID Cards. The USA is demanding that aN ID card be used in addition to passports...how long before they will contain Biometric information stored in a massive database?

On that topic, how secure will those databases be? Isn't it possible for hackers to get in and alter information? Hackers can already bypass the pentagon's security on occasion (as in the case of the UK hacker) so why not these databases? Will they be interconnected? That's a hell of a lot of info to have readily available...

You can bet that CATA (Biometrics advocate) is pushing hard to get those government contracts for their supporters...check out their website: CATA

Membership costs for CATA: Charter Member - $9000 CAD, Regular Member - $5000 CAD, SOHO Membership - $2000.

Here's a great article detailing some of the problems with Biometrics in the workplace.

Privacy:
Biometric Technology and Privacy in the Workplace article


You'll notice that even the Supreme Court of Canada expressed concern that many employees had failed to exercise their rights and had already submitted data (voice, iris, fingerprints etc etc) even though the Privacy Laws weren't followed as detailed in the Privacy Act...

Current privacy legislation in Canada

CATAAlliance president John Reid had this to say:

" The North American biometric market could expand ten-fold in the next five years, rising to US $2.6-billion by 2006. It is vital to our economy that we be positioned to take advantage of this growth. To illustrate its importance, for example, today companies that bid on Canadian government contracts are expected to have very high security standards -- standards that in many cases will require biometric solutions. In addition to boosting readiness for government procurement, our Biometrics Group will provide members with insider status on requests for proposals (rfp's), so they can bid for new business. We will also provide knowledge of new trends in the industry and a business network to help create partnerships for successful bidding for new contracts."

And another tid bit from CATAA:

Founding members include Ernst and Young, Iridian Technologies, and Bioscrypt. Other members include AiT, Lab7 Networks, Scotiabank, Telus, Canadian Bank Note, NextInnovations, Ottawa Telephony Group (OTG), and Visionsphere Technologies. Biometric technologies match patterns of live individuals in real time against enrolled records, and include a group of proven solutions that identify individuals based on physiological or behavioural characteristics. Biometric identification and verification are accomplished by using computer technology in non-invasive ways to match patterns of live individuals in real time against enrolled records.

It's the sign of the times so it seems. CATAA is hard selling the Biometrics industry and Canada's Government is listening. Isn't it nice to know that in giving up your privacy you are feathering the nests of Big Business? to the tune of $2.6 billion dollars.

Everything has a price tag.

C'mon Canada...you do realize that this is the beginning of MANDATORY Biometric ID Cards...everyone will have to have one...and it's not sneaking up on us either...it's already here.

Telus for example...if you refuse to offer up a voice sample you can be dismissed from your job. Or denied a job all together.

Scotia Bank...same policy.

How long before the system finds it's way into your place of work?

Oh my!

They will have to drag me kicking and screaming into the new world of biometric ID's. If I can't get a job with a company because I refuse to waive my rights, then I don't think that's a company I would be willing to work for.

Eventually, I won't have a choice in the matter.

On a kind of semi-unrelated note, it's pathetic that YVR has forced their employees to have these ID's but they cry like babies when we talk about having plexiglass in taxis to protect the drivers, because it might upset the tourists.

The priorities are a little screwed up, in my opinion.