Executive Summary
Radio Frequency Identification: Enabled Document Data (RFID)

This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) replaces the PIA submitted in entitled Enhanced Driver’s Licence (EDL) and Enhanced Identification Card (EIC) Program – Use of EDL data by the CBSA, which is a collaborative program between the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and three participating provinces: Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. A fourth province, Quebec, also initially participated but discontinued the availability of a Quebec Enhanced Driver’s Licence (EDL) to new applicants in . Quebec EDLs currently in circulation will remain active until they expire, and as such, are out for scope for this addendum. These provinces earlier agreed to make available enhanced documents (such as a Driver’s Licence or an Identification Card) that meet the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, allowing Canadian citizens to use the identification to facilitate land or water travel between Canada and the United States (U.S.).

Personal information is collected by the provinces and provided to the CBSA to enable query access by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the event that a Canadian presents their card as identification at a land/water Port of Entry. Historically, the EDLs/ Enhanced Identification Cards (EICs) were only available for use to enter the U.S. The CBSA’s border services officers (BSO) did not have query access to the database to verify the validity of the documents, and accepting them as identification to confirm citizenship for re-entry was at the discretion of the BSO. The CBSA has undertaken the policy and technology work to permit BSOs to have access to the CBSA’s EDL database and equipped select Ports of Entry with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) abilities to read the card. Ports of Entry that are not RFID-enabled will still be able to scan/swipe the cards and access the CBSA database. It should be noted that CBSA BSOs have always had access to the Lost Stolen Fraudulent Document Database (LSFD) module within the Field Operations Support System (FOSS), which is now the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

The program will be expanded and CBSA BSOs will be able to access information from certain U.S. RFID-enabled documents, such as State-issued Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, Passport cards and Electronic Permanent Resident Cards. U.S. RFID-enabled documents are not hosted by the CBSA. The data is retrieved from U.S. CBP subsequent to a request from the CBSA when the traveller seeks entry to Canada.

It is expected that this information will become available to CBSA BSOs in Spring .

Protecting your personal information

The following personal information elements are managed by the Traveller Programs – Program and Policy Management:

Transmitted by the province to the CBSA when the EDL / EIC is issued:

Available on the card when used by the holder to cross at a land / water Port of Entry:

Transmitted by U.S. CBP to the CBSA when an RFID-enabled document issued by a U.S. jurisdiction is used:

Available on the card when used by the holder to cross at a land / water port of entry:

There is no intention to change the elements of personal information to be collected, used or disclosed.

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