Mr. Speaker, in regard to (a), Transport Canada, or TC, officially ended its participation in the Known Traveler Digital Identity, or KTDI, project in April 2023. The KTDI Project never launched.
The Digital Travel Credentials, or DTC, pilot project launched on January 7, 2024, and ended on March 31, 2024.
In regard to (b), the KTDI project was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. In April 2023, TC and the Kingdom of the Netherlands notified the World Economic Forum that they had officially ended their participation due to resource constraints, travel restrictions and competing priorities.
In regard to (c), as the KTDI project was never officially launched, no data was obtained.
In regard to (d), as the KTDI project was never launched, no data of any type was retained or stored.
In regard to (e), TC facilitated the DTC pilot project with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or KLM, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands by assisting KLM in receiving a ministerial exemption order from Public Safety Canada for sections 4 and 4.1 of the Secure Air Travel Regulations to allow their use of facial recognition technology in a live pilot to verify the identity of participating passengers at the boarding gate for flights destined to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
A condition of the ministerial exemption was for KLM to ensure that all passenger participation in the DTC pilot project be voluntary.
In regard to (f), the World Economic Forum was not involved in any capacity with KLM’s DTC pilot project.
In regard to (g), the DTC pilot project partners were KLM, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport where the live pilot was hosted in Canada for departing flights.
In regard to (h), the DTC pilot project concluded on March 31, 2024.
In regard to (i), as TC did not collect any data from the DTC pilot project, the total number or citizenship of the passengers who volunteered for the pilot is unknown.
In regard to (j) (i) and (ii), no data from the DTC pilot project has been shared with TC, and no data was shared with Canadian third parties, such as the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.
In regard to (k), no third parties received data.
In regard to (l), TC did not conduct testing as the DTC pilot project was industry-run by KLM in partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In regard to (m), as the DTC pilot project was run by KLM, its results, including (i) benefits of, and (ii) problems with the technology, are commercially proprietary. Further information may be available from KLM and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In regard to (n), during the length of TC’s participation in the KTDI project, TC’s expenditures totalled $399,938 on salaries and $238,627 on other operating costs.
There are no government expenditures by TC in relation to the DTC pilot project run by KLM and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.