High-tech ID for U.S. border crossings
New high-tech identification cards to help Saskatchewan people cross the United States border will be introduced next year, the provincial government says. Special driver’s licences that can be used instead of passports at land border crossings will be introduced by June.
Beginning June 1, the U.S government will require all visitors to prove their citizenship at the border. People who fly to the U.S. will still need passports.
The new cards for land border crossings will be more convenient for people who don’t want to carry a passport and a driver’s licence, Saskatchewan Government Insurance says.
People who don’t drive can apply for enhanced identification cards.
SGI spokeswoman Sherry Wolf said the new cards will have security features, including an embedded radio frequency identification chip.
“There’ll also be some form of biometrics, probably a facial recognition technology, as well as what’s called a machine-readable zone which is consistent with the passport,” she said.
SGI is working on the details, but the cards will cost about $50, Wolf said.
B.C., Ontario and Manitoba are introducing similar programs.
Gary Dickson, Saskatchewan’s information and privacy commissioner, said he will assess whether the enhanced cards protect residents’ privacy.
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Anything to help speed things up over there. As a person who crosses often on business it can get rather slow sometimes
Biometrics is OK but the radio frequency identification goes too far.