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January 24, 2008 British Columbia will become the first province to offer an "enhanced driver's licence" to Canadian citizens in that province to meet new U.S. security demands amidst widespread public concern with the new technology. Meanwhile, Canada's Federal Privacy Commissioner has just released a discussion paper on identity and privacy issues to help Canadians understand the post-9/11 security environment.
"Canada’s first enhanced driver’s licences (EDLs) will be available in British Columbia for use by eligible B.C. residents driving to the United States," said a government press release on January 22. "EDLs are proposed as an alternative to the passport that will be required to enter the United States at its land and water borders no earlier than June 2009." To the great displeasure of the Canadian and American politicians and businesspeople advocating for a more seamless border through discussions of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, the United States is unilaterally imposing new rules for land, air and sea crossings into and out of its territory. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) is proof that no matter how closely Canada plays by U.S. rules there will always be that extra step we are asked to take. The Department of Public Safety is working with all provinces to develop WHTI-compatible travel documents that the U.S. will consider as good as a passport (at least for the time being). The B.C. EDL is the first of its kind. "The Canadian flag on the front [of B.C.'s new card] distinguishes the EDL from the standard B.C. driver's licence," claims the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), the organization supplying the new driver's licences, in a Q+A on its website. "The EDL contains the same information as your current driver's licence as well as confirming your Canadian citizenship. The EDL also contains a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip and a machine readable zone on the back to help U.S. border official identify you quickly." The ICBC website continues: "The only information disclosed to border authorities is: the information that appears on your driver's licence, the information you provide in your interview with ICBC, your confirmed Canadian citizenship, and two unique identifiers. The unique identifiers are numbers that help border officials identify you at the border. They are not your driver's licence number." While the U.S. government has every right to require a passport or other compatible document from everyone entering or leaving the country, a new Harris/Decima study done for the Canadian Border Services Agency and Passport Canada shows that Canadians aren't all that interested in the fancy new technology. The study results, reported in the National Post this week, show that: * "Sixty per cent say they would be more likely to use the current passport when travelling to the U.S. even if alternative documents were available"; * While 48 per cent said they would most likely use an enhanced driver's licences before any other type of document, "only 36 per cent are willing to pay even $30 for them. That falls to just 10 per cent if the fee rises to $70"; * "Even among those who express interest in enhanced drivers' licences, 45% still say they would be more likely to use a passport instead of an alternative document." Furthermore, "Canadians have limited confidence in the RFID technology that would be included in all the proposed alternative documents," wrote the Post article. "Only six per cent say they are very confident in the technology, with a further one in three saying they are confident. But more than half are not confident, the study says. Concern centres on two key areas: What information is stored and who has access to it. There is also some concern about how long information will be stored." B.C.'s enhanced driver's licence differs from the directly SPP-linked NEXUS system, which grants paid participants expedited cross-border travel privileges, essentially creating separate classes of people who can expect separate, unequal treatment at the border based on an anonymous Canadian and U.S. government assessment of their likely risk to the national security of both nations. However, there are privacy risks to the RFID technology, as outlined by the American Civil Liberties Union in a fact sheet about Washington State's own enhanced driver's licence, which is being rolled out at the same time as the compatible B.C. licence. "Washington’s proposed EDLs will not have built-in security, and so the Department of Licensing will ship them with a protective sleeve designed to block the RFID transmission," writes the ACLU. "When an EDL is within the sleeve, the transmission of the unique number will likely be blocked. However, there is no on/off switch. The RFID is always ready to transmit information, and each time an EDL is taken out of the sleeve the signal will be broadcast to compatible readers within range. "Travelers usually only carry their passports when they are crossing an international border," continues the ACLU. "However, drivers will carry their EDL with them all the time. This daily use of EDLs greatly increases the risk of unauthorized reading by RFID readers, especially if the driver forgets to keep the EDL in its protective sleeve." On top of security risks and the public's distaste for RFID technology, there is also the issue of how useful the new driver's licences will be. On the same day as the government announced B.C.'s new licence, Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released primer on privacy and identity issues to prepare Canadians for future debates around new forms of identification systems, including a possible national ID card. The primer provides interesting background information for thinking about things like EDL's, particularly how useful they are or how secure they will actually make us. The Privacy Commissioner also looks at how governments could prevent unwarranted data matching, including a requirement that the Canadian government defend privacy in international relations. "The federal government must challenge demands by other governments and international bodies for identification requirements that are unnecessarily intrusive according to Canadian privacy standards," she writes. To read the Privacy Commissioner's discussion paper on privacy and identity issues, click here.
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