Canada Exploring Facial Recognition Tech for Customs & Immigration
by Sarah Milner
Nearly 25% fewer Canadians returned by air from the U.S. in May.
The Canadian government is funding a new initiative to streamline border crossing.
The planned federal project would use facial recognition technology to allow travelers to identify themselves via a selfie taken on a mobile device. That image would then be verified against the traveler’s passport photo.
The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) is developing the new system to make the border-crossing process easier and faster.
The initiative is in its early stages. The Canadian government is seeking possible vendors to provide the technology with a budget up to $25 million (USD), the Canadian Press reports. The pilot project is at least two to four years away.
The CBSA has been working to modernize border crossing in recent years. In 2021, the CBSA rolled out an Advance Declaration option that would allow travelers to self-declare up to 72 hours before arriving in the country. This service can be accessed using ArriveCAN app, which was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Civil Liberties groups have raised privacy concerns about the proposed use of facial recognition technology.
“Facial recognition technology (FRT) threatens individuals’ privacy rights, their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and some of their fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression,” said Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, a director with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
“Its widespread accuracy issues pose heightened risks to equity-deserving communities,” she told TMR in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) proposed by the federal government as part of Bill C-27, in its current form, fails to address these issues. Until there are clear and transparent policies and laws regulating the use of [facial recognition technology] in Canada, it should not be used by federal agencies.”
The CBSA website acknowledges such privacy concerns: “We know that new technologies may raise concerns about privacy, bias and protection of personal information. To address this, we are taking careful steps to research and plan our actions.”
Facial recognition technology is already being used at airports around the world. Air Canada was the first Canadian airline to implement the tech in 2023. South of the border, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has implemented facial recognition in some U.S. airports as a voluntary process.
