Thank you for the question.
In regard to the use of facial recognition and immigration screening programs, we do take a digital photograph of the clients who are currently subject to the biometric requirement. That photograph is stored in our system. It is used by border services officers in airports on arrival. The photograph is compared to the photograph in the passport, and it is compared visually to the person who is presenting themselves for an examination.
We're not using a facial recognition algorithm to compare the traveller with the photograph taken at the application stage at this time. In regard to storage of the information, as I said earlier, the fingerprints that are collected at these application centres overseas are securely transmitted to the RCMP's fingerprint storage system. They're encrypted, transmitted to the RCMP, and they're stored next to criminal prints that the RCMP has had the mandate to store for many decades now. They're very expert at it. I would suggest they're world class at taking care of fingerprints that are collected.
No biometric information is stored overseas at these application centres. As soon as a fingerprint is taken from a client it's encrypted, transmitted securely, and deleted from the source so that biometric information is only stored here in Canada on Canadian servers under the close scrutiny and careful eye of the Mounties.