Evidence of meeting #75 for Public Safety and National Security in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was goods.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Thank you, Mr. Dubé.
Before I bring down the gavel and thank the witnesses, I just want to hear the concern that may be coming up, and that is that some people don't sexually identify as either male or female.
How will that be processed in the system?
10:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Programs Branch, Canada Border Services Agency
If there are adjustments to the Canadian passport, as an example, where right now it's male/female, and eventually an x, then we will adjust the paramètres under which we share the information with the U.S. So it would be essentially a system fix.
Am I right in saying that?
10:35 a.m.
Acting Executive Director, Traveller Program Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
That's right, yes.
10:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Programs Branch, Canada Border Services Agency
I believe so, because they're sending back what they've collected. In some instances, your country of birth is not identified on your passport. Essentially it's what is collected by the U.S. border services officer that is sent back to Canada.
10:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
I'm assuming that this will not require legislative change. Rather, that would simply be a regulatory change. Is that correct?
10:35 a.m.
Acting Executive Director, Traveller Program Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
We reference page 2 of the passport, and it's the basic biographic information. That is an international civil aviation standard, the machine-readable zone. You'll see it at the bottom of every passport. That field for gender has two values: it has M and it has F. Those are the only two reserved values for male and female. Then issuing authorities can put whatever other marker in there to address people who don't identify with a specific gender. That's the international standard. That's what this is based on. So all the passport readers that are out there along the land border in the U.S. and in Canada are set up to read that.
10:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Okay. Thank you.
I want to thank each of you for the very enlightening two hours. I particularly appreciate your respecting the time limits.
Thank you, colleagues.
We will adjourn until Thursday morning.