Canadian Plans to Introduce e-Passports

In an effort to ensure Canadian passports continue to be travel identification which is "internationally respected", the federal Passport Office has announced the introduction of the next generation of passport – a so-called "e-passport", containing embedded microchips to store images and personal information. The impetus stems from the growing number of countries that are expected to adopt the International Civil Aviation Organization's passport biometrics security standard. It is widely expected, but not yet confirmed, that unique biometric identification markers, such as facial features, iris scans or fingerprints, will be stored in the Canadian passport chips. Because of this, privacy advocates have begun to express concern over the possibility that a database of biometrics information in the passports could be created and used for wider purposes than that originally claimed. Canada may be the first country to implement e-passports. The US is not expected to have micro-chipped passports until late 2005. However, Canadians should not expect the conversion to take place overnight. At the outset, the new passports will be distributed on a trial basis to Canadian diplomats early next year. If the initial implementation goes well, the new passports will then be issued to the general public. It has not yet been announced whether the current passport fee will be changed. For more information about the Canadian Passport Office, visit: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/passport_office/about_e.asp. For information about the International Civil Aviation Organization, see: http://www.icao.int/. Summary by: Sue Diaz