Canada’s biometric border screening program is going to expand dramatically this year with new requirements applying to visitors from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Currently, Canadian border authorities collect biometric data including fingerprints from refugees, asylum claimants, and visa applicants coming from 30 ‘high risk’ countries of origin. But starting July 31st, the program…
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Ahmed Hussen, is proposing the use of biometric identification to his American counterparts as a means of better managing refugee claims between the countries. It’s part of an effort to modernize their Safe Third Country Agreement. The aim is to stop refugees from claiming their status in Canada even if they first…
Canada and the Netherlands are about to test drive biometrics and blockchain for air travel as part of a larger initiative called Known Traveller. The announcement comes amid the World Economic Forum, and upon the launch of the Known Traveller Digital Identity prototype. The product of a wide-ranging collaboration between governments, international hotel chains and…
“It’s a small-scale example of the broader law enforcement community’s increasing reliance on biometrics in criminal investigations…” A single fingerprint helped to stop a crime spree in the small town of Ajax, Ontario, reports CP24. The crime spree involved a series of gunpoint robberies and carjackings over the course of October and November in the…
“By leveraging international standards for biometric data, BIO-key is able to provide the Province with a flexible, secure, and highly scalable platform for managing biometrics across a broader range of use-cases.” – Mike DePasquale, CEO, BIO-key BIO-key has announced a new government contract win: The Province of British Columbia is expanding its use of the company’s WEB-key…
ImageWare has announced that it has won approval for two Canadian patents pertaining to its IWS Biometric Engine. One of the patents, titled ‘Multimodal Biometric Platform‘ and issued in November of last year, describes a system that revolves around a biometric matching engine, which uses an assortment of biometric processors specifically designed to assess a…
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will deploy 90 new biometric kiosks this spring. Dubbed “BorderXpress”, the kiosks are aimed at helping the airport to comply with the Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK) program, the Canada Border Service Agency’s new effort to expand automated traveler screening in the country. The kiosks will allow users to scan their passports,…
Starting today, travelers coming to Canada through the Ottawa International Airport will use biometric kiosks to enter the country. The kiosks replace the paper customs forms previously used to process new arrivals to the country. After disembarking, visitors will use the kiosks to enter their details, with the kiosks scanning their faces and comparing the…
The Canada Border Services Agency has launched a new automated traveler screening program based on facial recognition, according to a CBC report. Dubbed the Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK) program, it’s starting to take shape as international airports in Ottawa, Toronto, and Quebec City pave the way with requests for tender. In the case of Toronto’s…
“Public Services has consulted various industry interests prior to making the change and has piloted biometric background checks with a major contractor…” The Canadian government is enhancing its standards for contractor background checks with a new fingerprinting requirement, reports the CBC. The change is being implemented by Public Services and Procurement Canada in response to…
Canadian border officials are concerned about potential hack attacks against their biometric databases, according to a new report from The Toronto Star’s Alex Boutilier. The concerns were outlined in a report prepared by Canada Border Services Agency officials for the country’s Public Safety Minister last November. The document outlines multiple digital threats to border security,…
The provincial government of Saskatchewan, Canada, is getting ready to take advantage of biometric technology to help fight identity fraud. Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has announced that it will use facial recognition to help prevent the production of duplicate and fraudulent driver licenses. For the province’s drivers, the measure won’t be noticeable; it’s work is…
Canadian officials have used biometric identification technology to flag 15 fraudsters attempting to get travel documents under assumed names, reports The Canadian Press. The bust is the product of a trial project initiated in 2014 by the Canada Border Services Agency in collaboration with the federal Immigration Department. The former shared the photos as well as…
Toronto-based Entertech Systems has gained access to a strong talent pool. The biometrics company has joined BioTalent Canada, a network connecting employers with recent graduates specializing in biotechnology. It’s already paying off, according to Entertech President Jeff Crews. Commenting in a press release, he asserted, “Through our partnership with BioTalent Canada we have been able…
Having been out of operation for about a week, the Whitehorse RCMP’s fingerprint scanner has now been repaired and is back in business. It isn’t clear what shut down the machine in the first place, but the consequences were very obvious to some. Individuals in need of biometric background checks faced delays, possibly affecting work…
The Canadian government is testing out facial recognition for border security screening. The work is being led by the Canadian Border Services Agency in collaboration with the University of Quebec, with the system in question designed to scan the faces of travelers captured on video cameras and compare them against criminal and terrorist databases. The…
Apple Pay is expected to make its Canadian debut tomorrow. The launch will be spearheaded by American Express, whose representatives have confirmed that at least some of their customers will be able to use the mPayment service starting November 17th. It’s the fruition of a promise on the part of American Express, which formally announced…
The Canadian government is seeking to expand the collection of visitors’ biometric data, and it’s raising some concerns about privacy. The changes have been introduced into a new omnibus budget bill. The government already takes face and fingerprint data for visitors from a number of countries. It also uses ePassports, has employed facial recognition technology…
Canadian and US officials have agreed on a tentative plan to implement a ‘pre-clearance’ border crossing system for train passengers, truckers, and other drivers, according to a Toronto Star article by Daniel Dale. The agreement, if approved by US legislators, would ease the flow of traffic between the two countries, which has been clogged since…