Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for inviting me.
This is a technically complex area, and that is why I've asked two experienced officials from my office to accompany me today.
Dr. Andrew Patrick has studied and written extensively on the issue of identity management, verification, and the use of biometrics. He also represents my organization in matters of privacy oversight at Interpol.
Also with me today is Lindsay Scotton, who has been managing the review of privacy impact assessments of federal government programs in my office for nearly a decade.
As the honourable members of the committee probably know, the Privacy Act imposes obligations each time the federal government gathers personal information. Among those obligations, the federal organizations are supposed to establish certain protection measures, limit the use of information for secondary purposes and establish the list of their databases publicly, regardless of the citizenship of those affected.
In addition, in the case of legislative or regulatory amendments to the immigration system, I expect the relevant institution to provide us with detailed assessments of private life factors.
This is why it's particularly important to strike the right balance between a necessary scrutiny to weed out the bad apples and a commitment to uphold our democratic rights and freedoms, including the right to privacy, when we process information on individuals who will be visiting our country or who are on their way to becoming Canadian citizens.
I will now ask Dr. Patrick to discuss some of the key technologies involved and their privacy implications.