Thank you.
The electronic passport looks very much like a standard passport. It has a chip embedded in either the front or the back cover. Different countries approach it differently. It has the data, as Madam Desloges explained.
It certainly makes the document itself more tamper-proof, because now you have to go beyond simply.... If you did want to tamper with a passport, you'd have to also be able to change the information on the chip, and it is extremely difficult to do so. It adds a layer of security to the book.
Having the photo on the chip also allows border officials, if they choose to do so, and many are starting now to do so, to link the booklet to the individual who's standing in front of them. They can use facial-recognition technology at the border to match the person who's standing in front of them with the photo that has been securely stored on the chip. You create this linkage between the booklet and the person who's presenting it.
As for development costs, budget 2008 provided Passport Canada with $65 million to develop and introduce the e-passport.