Biometric information is a real game changer in terms of allowing departments and agencies like ours to be able to lock in the identity of individuals who present themselves for a service. Given the advances in technology and the fact that fraud and malfeasance are becoming equally developed in terms of the use of technology, locking in identity is really central to being able to provide efficient client service and facilitation, as I mentioned at the outset, but also to ensure we are able to manage the risks as efficiently as possible through the use of technology.
With biometrics, our vision would be that once an individual has provided their biometrics and a visa is issued—or an ETA well in the future, but starting with the visa issuance with biometrics—and when that person applies again for another Canadian visa, we'll be able to lock in their identity through the provision of biometrics with that renewal application. It should make the issuance of the document that much easier, if there have been no infractions in Canada or no adverse information has come to light since that first application. It should make the assessment of applications that much easier, and for clients, again, at a level of client service and facilitation that we can't always accommodate now, given the need, in many instances, to actually invoke an interview to ensure that we're actually dealing with the same person we have dealt with previously.