This week the government said it considers this a “sensible move, in line with the duties CIC already performs, such as determining Canadian citizenship.”
According to the government, Passport Canada’s information technology system is “nearing the end of its lifespan” and Citizenship and Immigration’s current system “has the capacity and security features” needed for a cost-effective transition to online applications.
But for years the passport system has operated under Foreign Affairs, so the move puzzles some.
For instance, is it about streamlining biometrics, which are to be introduced into the passport on July 1 and soon after, to be introduced by Citizenship and Immigration for visitors from 30 different countries?
With Immigration Minister Jason Kenney keen on stopping immigrants from committing residency fraud through the use of exit visas, might it also be about better tracking the comings and goings of Canadian citizens?
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar mused about such possibilities Thursday. He argued Foreign Affairs is “best suited” to deal with passports and wondered why a department already bogged down in immigration backlogs would take on such a challenge.
“You want to talk about a department that has challenges with administration, it’s that department. The backlogs are enormous,” Dewar said, adding he’d also like to know how much it’s going to cost to shift Passport Canada to a new ministry.
Dewar also questioned what will happen to the approximately $25 fee incorporated into the cost of each passport, money currently earmarked for consular service, which the NDP said isn’t properly handled and will likely never be now.
“The question is where does that money go now? What happens to the core responsibilities of our embassies and consular affairs as it relates to people’s passports?” he asked. “The real core question is: why do this?”
According to the government, Canadians overseas who require help with a lost passport, for example, will continue to be supported by Foreign Affairs-run consulates and embassies.
Experts, meanwhile, dismiss any nefarious Big Brother intentions and suggest the move may be political.
Former Canadian diplomat Gar Pardy suggested it may just be a “balancing mechanism” since Foreign Affairs has just been asked to absorb Canada’s aid agency, while Kenney’s department may “need a bit more to do.”
University of Ottawa national security expert Wesley Wark added it may be part of the government’s ongoing effort to realign the Foreign Affairs portfolio. It has already moved to merge Canada’s aid agency into the department and there’s a sense Canadian foreign policy is becoming more about advancing the country’s business and commercial interests abroad.
“I suppose the feeling is, that business of staying in touch with international developments doesn’t need to have been done from Foreign Affairs and that it might make more sense from the government’s perspective to move a fairly peripheral division out of Foreign Affairs, put it in Citizenship and Immigration Canada and essentially let Foreign Affairs get on with the job of reinventing itself,” he said.
Phil Triadafilopoulos, an associate political science professor at the University of Toronto, said historically, travel documents were meant to regulate exit more than entry, as countries were concerned about losing human capital. While the role of immigration is to “keep track of foreigners,” he said it’s hard to say whether the intention is to also keep better track of citizens.
In the government’s plans and priorities outlook for 2013-14, there was no mention of moving Passport Canada out of Foreign Affairs.
In fact, the department indicated it looked forward to implementing its new 10-year ePassport with enhanced security features as well as a new fee structure aimed at making the program self-sustainable.
In a late day response Thursday, Citizenship and Immigration said the change will make the passport program more “convenient, efficient and cost effective” since Canadians will be able to renew online.
Spokesman Bill Brown said the intent is not to track the travel of Canadians, however, CIC and the Canada Border Services Agency are “working together to explore different policy and implementation options for Canadian entry and exit requirements.”
Fees earmarked for consular services will continue to flow, he added.
Of the 2,750 staff positions at Passport Canada, he said about 850 involved in security, case management and internal services would be moved to CIC. Another 1,900 employees involved in service delivery and processing would move under Human Resources and Skills Development Canada which oversees passport delivery across the country through Service Canada outlets.
tcohen(at)postmedia.com
Twitter.com/tobicohen
Passports, at a glance
What is a passport?
it’s a letter or document that provides authorization to pass from a port or leave a country, or pass through a country. The first use of the term dates from the 16th century. Today it means a document issued by a government authority, granting permission for the person specified in it to travel.
When did Canada start using them?
In 1862 Canada began issuing “letters of request” signed by the Governor General to allow travel into the United States, then embroiled in the Civil War.
Canada issued 50 passports in 1878, for a fee of $1 each.
In 1921, after several international conferences to standardize travel documents, Canada switched to the booklet format still in use today.
In 1970, the first Passport Canada offices opened. There were 34 regional offices as of 2012.
Last year, Passport Canada issued 4.8 million travel documents.
How secure are they?
At one time, Canadian passports were notoriously easy to steal and forge. Proof of birth in Canada was originally not required when you mailed your application to Ottawa. The Soviet intelligence agent who murdered Leon Trotsky in Mexico in 1940 carried a forged Canadian passport. The RCMP has long wanted finger print identification on passports.
In 1985, the page with the photograph and personal information was laminated to reduce tampering.
After 9/11, more security features were added including holographic images and an embedded digital picture of the person. The cost of a passport jumped to $87 to cover extra border security measures, including enhanced passports.
So they’re safer now?
Not according to a 2005 audit by then auditor general Sheila Fraser. She described it as a “surprisingly” vulnerable, insecure document. The audit noted that foreign missions printed passports using the old booklets lacking new security features, that guarantors were often not double-checked, passports were still issued to people on watchlists, and very few are ever revoked.
Did you know?
Modern Canadian passports still carry a copy of a letter from Queen Elizabeth II asking for safe passage of the passport holder.
The current passport includes a “ghost” photo that only shows up under ultraviolet light and a fancy ink that changes colours depending on the lighting.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Tobi Cohen
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