Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - August 2009
The Canadian Government has announced plans for a new fingerprint database that will be shared among Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom in an attempt to thwart claims by fraudulent immigrants and refugees who may have criminal records in their country of origin.
Despite reassurance from each of the three governments involved, privacy experts in both Canada and Australia have raised concerns over violations.
“Highly sensitive information such as fingerprints should be safeguarded with a correspondingly high level of security safeguards,” said Anne-Marie Hayden, spokeswoman for the Privacy Commissioner’s office. “We very much look forward to receiving further clarification from CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) to ensure that this initiative is respectful of the privacy rights of what may be considered a quite vulnerable group.”
The Department of Immigration, however, is defending this program as a better way to separate illegitimate and genuine refugee claims, as well as protect Canada from potentially violent criminals.
“Through this initiative, we are tackling identity fraud and abuse of our immigration and refugee programs, while at the same time ensuring that Canada continues to welcome genuine refugees,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
It is expected that the United States and New Zealand will eventually join Canada, Britain and Australia in this fingerprint database initiative.
Sources: Edmonton Journal; Citizenship and Immigration Canada
