Ottawa urged to share citizenship info with provinces for high-tech licences

The federal government is forcing provinces to build their own extensive databases from scratch, which will only waste public funds and create a new magnet for identity thieves, said Ann Cavoukian.

"This is a no-brainer," she said after releasing her annual report.

"Don't ask us to recreate this information. It would pose enormous risks in terms of inaccuracy, the potential for identity theft of creating a new database of very sensitive information, not to mention waste of efficiency and taxpayer dollars. Why would we do this?"

Several provinces, including Ontario, have been pushing for enhanced drivers' licences to allow Canadians to cross by land or sea into the United States. Passports are still required to fly into the U.S.

The idea was floated as a solution to mounting delays in travelling to the U.S., which has stepped up its border security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

British Columbia is the first province to try out enhanced licences through a pilot project involving Washington state and the federal government.

Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba have also shown interest in the high-tech passports, which are embedded with a radio frequency identification chip that can be scanned at border crossings.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has supported the proposal for enhanced drivers' licences as an alternative, but continues to urge Canadians to get a passport.

Cavoukian said she's advised Ontario not to create its own database of citizenship information and instead push for an information-sharing agreement with Ottawa.

She said she's written to Day and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley about the problem, and some federal officials she spoke to expressed surprise at what the provinces were being asked to do.

"I don't know who came up with it," she said. "My understanding is that they're looking at it now."

But Ottawa still hasn't given a reason why it won't share the information with the provinces, Cavoukian said.

It can't be for security reasons because the federal government has already agreed to share information with Ontario in certain areas, such as the province's guaranteed annual income supplement program which provides financial assistance to low-income seniors, she said.