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Identity Cards in Canada |
National Identity Cards in Canada:
The Next Step in the Fight Against Terrorism?
by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson
April 11th, 2003
On September 11, 2001, anti-American terrorists hijacked four American airliners, crashing
two into New York’s World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon, and ultimately killing
over 4,000 people. This was followed in October by a different type of attack, as terrorists
distributed anthrax spores throughout the U.S. Postal Service.
In the wake of the September 11th tragedy, President Bush declared a war on terrorism.
Canada was quick to announce its support for Bush’s worldwide coalition against terrorists
and the governments that supported them. Responding to the September 11th tragedy, Prime
Minister Chretien stated, “It is impossible to fully comprehend the evil that would
have conjured up such a depraved and cowardly assault upon thousands of innocent people…Terrorist
acts are an offence against the freedoms and rights of all nations.”
After September 11th, both countries enacted anti-terrorist legislation designed to
combat terrorism while protecting civil liberties. Both the Mobilization Against Terrorism
Act (United States) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (Canada) received support from all political
parties and quickly became law. However, Canada is considering going one step further
by introducing a national identity card. Some people fear this poses a major threat
to Canadian’s basic right to privacy. Some have brought up the specter of Nazi Germany
and South Africa under apartheid, where identity cards – which citizens had to produce
upon command - were used for racial profiling.
The following feature introduces national identity cards and their potential impact
on privacy rights. The article is broken down into the following sections:
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- Canada’s Response to the War on Terrorism
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- Canada looks to biometrics to fight terrorism
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- Do technological advances mean giving up our privacy rights?
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- Immigration Minister Denis Coderre finds little support for a biometric ID card
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- How are other countries handling this issue?
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- Debate on a national identity card continues
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