BORDER CROSSINGS
The Nexus Highway card allows people in vehicles to move quickly through both Canadian and U.S. customs using designated lanes at 11 border crossings in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. The Whirlpool Bridge at Niagara Falls is now restricted to holders of the card. Nexus Highway is a joint Canada-U.S. venture with records stored by government agencies in both countries. More than 94,000 people hold the $80 card, which uses a print of two index fingers. No breakdown is available on how many cardholders are Canadians. For more information, visit cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/
travel/nexus.
PASSPORTS
The International Civil Aviation Authority, a United Nations agency, has ruled that all countries must issue machine-readable passports by April, 2010. The reason: to reduce airport congestion. The ICAO doesn't require the new passports to have biometric information, but if governments choose to go that route, the ICAO says the standard form should be facial. That means use of biometric code to map the holder's face.
Canada will start issuing machine-readable passports on a trial basis next year, says Passport Canada spokesman Dan Kingsbury. They will contain a computer chip that stores a digital photograph of the bearer, but won't be biometric. Research is under way into the possible use of biometric facial recognition on Canadian passports at some time in the future, he says. The privacy commissioner's office is monitoring developments.
— Douglas McArthur
