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CANADIAN IMMIGRATION MINISTER PUSHING AHEAD WITH BIOMETRIC NATIONAL ID CARDS

Privacy Commissioner issued a "solemn and urgent warning" against the plan

OTTAWA, February 10, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Immigration Minister Dennis Coderre argued in the House of Commons for a national identification card with a biometric identifier such as a fingerprint or eye scan. Coderre cited U.S. border security measures as the pressing need for the measure.

However, the suggestion came under fire from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, George Radwanski, who has issued a "solemn and urgent warning" that the Federal Government is on a path that threatens to wipe out key privacy rights and, with them, important elements of freedom as we know it.

"The Government is, quite simply, using September 11 as an excuse for new collections and uses of personal information about all of us Canadians that cannot be justified by the requirements of anti-terrorism and that, indeed, have no place in a free and democratic society," he said.

See the Privacy Commissioner's release:
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/January2003/29/c4708.html

See the Globe and Mail coverage:
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20030207/UCARDN/nat...

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