The Canadian government wants global corporate help to quickly usher in a vaccine passport system, according to recently posted documents..“The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has an urgent need to secure the services of a global organization (the “Contractor”) with knowledge of and expertise in biometrics,” said a tender notice at buyandsell.gc.ca.“The Agency requires this organization to assist with the immediate establishment of an Office of Biometrics and Identity Management and to work with the Agency in researching, planning for and rapidly developing a strategy and roadmap related to the use of digital solutions enabled by supporting technologies in biometrics, in response to the COVID 19 situation and other operational priorities.”.The tender notice has termed this potential encroachment on privacy and freedom as a “centre of excellence” that would cooperate with “international partners,” and again uses the term “urgent need.” Evidently this “Biometrics Authority” will evolve over time..“The Contractor will bring knowledge, capabilities, and experience to support CBSA’s urgent need to establish a biometric strategy, biometric foundation and ultimately a Biometrics Authority (Centre of Excellence). Specifically, the “contractor” will assist the CBSA with the development of a comprehensive approach and plan to manage, evolve and adapt in using biometrics to deliver the mission of the agency while considering our interrelationship and joint ventures with other federal government departments and agencies and our international partners.”.The notice of proposed procurement says bids will close on June 21 with an anticipated start date of August 2. It also says, “The contract period will be for one year from the date of contract with an irrevocable option to extend it for up to one additional year.” .In all, there are 27 contract positions. Fifteen companies have been invited to submit a proposal, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers..In a joint statement on May 19, Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial privacy commissioners expressed concerns about vaccine passports. The statement called for the highest standards of security to protect an individual’s health information..“Individuals will be required or requested to disclose personal health information – their vaccine/immunity status – in exchange for goods, services and/or access to certain premises or locations. While this may offer substantial public benefit, it is an encroachment on civil liberties that should be taken only after careful consideration …” said the statement..“In light of the significant privacy risks involved, the necessity, effectiveness and proportionality of vaccine passports must be established for each specific context in which they will be used. Their necessity must be evidence-based and there must be no other less privacy-intrusive measures available and equally effective in achieving the specified purposes.”.In addition, the commissioners said: “Vaccine passports must be decommissioned if, at any time, it is determined that they are not a necessary, effective or proportionate response to address their public health purposes.”.The privacy commissioners also seemed to question the premise of the vaccine passport by saying: “So far we have not been presented with evidence of vaccine effectiveness to prevent transmission, although members of the scientific community have indicated that this may be forthcoming.”.The commissioners recommended unless a law was made to mandate it, businesses should not require the production of a vaccine passport to provide services. They also advised that vaccine passports should only be used for COVID-19 and that when the pandemic has ceased, all personal health information collected through the passports should be destroyed..Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan
