Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, December 08, 2012

Biometrics data collection: Canadian visa applicants from 29 countries will be fingerprinted

Starting in 2013, visitors to Canada from 29 countries and a territory must pay an extra $85 for Ottawa to collect their fingerprints and photos when they apply for visas.

The countries are mostly from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but the biometrics requirement will also extend to Haiti, Jamaica and Colombia.

It is yet another measure Ottawa is imposing under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act passed in June to tighten border entry into Canada.

Earlier this week, Ottawa exercised its powers from the same law to designate five carloads of Romanian refugee claimants crossing the Quebec border as “irregular arrivals,” stripping them of the basic rights afforded to other asylum seekers.

“Biometrics will strengthen and modernize Canada’s immigration system,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Friday. “Our doors are open to legitimate travellers and, through the use of biometrics, we will also be able to protect the safety and security of Canadians.”

According to the Canada Gazette, the countries were selected for their volumes or rates of visa refusals, removal orders, refugee claims, and nationals arriving without proper documentation or attempting to travel under false identities, as well as their relevance to Canada’s foreign and trade policy objectives.

About 20 per cent of the 300,000 visa-required applicants — visitors, students or temporary foreign workers — would have to submit their biometric information in the first year. Children, the elderly and diplomats are exempt.

The applicants must present themselves at a biometric collection service point, a third-party visa application centre contracted by Ottawa, to provide “all available fingerprints and have a photograph taken.”

Their fingerprints would be sent to the RCMP for storage and checked against the fingerprint records of refugee claimants, previous deportees, persons with Canadian criminal records and previous temporary resident applicants before a visa decision is made. Border guards would then check the biometrics information again at the border.

The $85 fee is expected to recover 50 per cent of the operational cost. A cost-benefit analysis estimated the plan would save the federal and provincial governments $106 million over 10 years from “reduced negative refugee claims, fewer removals and detentions.”

Those affected by the new rules include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Vietnam and Yemen.

Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Nicholas Keung 

No comments:

Post a Comment