The new passport will contain a photograph but not biometric data such as fingerprints or iris scans.A passport, whether or not it contains fingerprints and iris scans, contains biometric data. A photo, gender and date of birth are just some of the biometric details required on the passport application [pdf]. Another form of ID, which will also contain plenty of biometric information, is also required.
Adults will be able to choose between a five-year passport and one valid for 10 years but children will only be able to get the five-year document.
“The goal of the validity period of 10 years is not to reduce costs but to be more convenient for Canadians, to get Canada to the same level as a growing number of countries such as the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Australia,” said Monique Boivin, a Passport Canada spokeswoman.
She said about 80 countries issue e-passports and “Canada is the only G8 country not to issue electronic passports to the general public.”
Boivin said Canada chose not to include fingerprints and iris scans in the passport to comply with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
“Right now the ICAO standard is the facial image,” she said.
Even when no software is applied to the problem, biometrics often make up a part of the ID management process. In this case, a border agent will look at the Canadian passport's printed photo, scan the chip and look at the electronically stored photo and look at the person who handed her the document. If all three match and are consistent with the passport's other information, a high-confidence identification has been made.
People are remarkably good at this type of facial recognition problem and border agents are trained at it, to boot.
