Canadians can now expect to have their information collected at the border

July 18, 2019 por Isolda Barrera

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The announcement was made on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security, any legal citizen from Canada can now expect at the time of crossing the northern border to have their information collected, this will include things like complete name, date of birth and gender.

This comes as part of the Beyond the Border Action Plan, the agreement came to be in 2011 and was made together by President Barack Obama and then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to help approach issues that have to do with security and economic competitiveness. This means that both the American and Canadian government will be working together, not just at the border, but beyond the border to help enhance the security and accelerate the flow of people, goods and services.

This plan is part of the third phase in which the United States and Canada will exchange information on third-country nationals and permanent legal residents. This will be to start the second phase of the already mentioned action plan and it will be to better identify people who overstay their lawful presence in either country, keep a closer eye on the departures of those who have been booted from either country, and to verify that residency requirements are being met.

Now, the two countries have extended their efforts to gathering certain personal information from full-fledged Canadian and American citizens at the border.

But some of Canada's privacy groups have flagged some concerns about the initiative. Although Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien said that his office has been "pleased with the level of consultation and the improved quality of privacy analysis undertaken by agencies involved with border security", from his part there should not be any concern about where the information is going.

Information collected at the border will be used to expand the exchange of data to include U.S. and Canadian citizens and “continue the sharing of data on legal permanent residents and third-country nationals”. This information exchange will help officials identify people who overstay their "lawful period of admission". It will also allow them to monitor the moment people leave the country, that may be subject to a removal order, as well as assure that requirements for residing are being met for immigration programs.

The actual process of collecting and sharing the information will be done “in accordance with each country’s respective privacy laws and policies”. This to help maintain all the information that they collect private and secure. The Government of Canada is determined to protect the right and freedoms of individuals. About a year ago, Canadians were told that they should expect to have their phones searched when crossing into the U.S. border, in the southern border with Mexico, this was something that had already taken effect since almost two years ago. Canada had also been included but with recent situation in the southern border, stricter measures are being taken in both north and south border of the country. This will allow for border agents to aks for passwords to phones and other electronics without probable causes.

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