Show Me Your Face..all of it !!

[Kip Powick]

The Harper government has quietly tightened air security rules to make it absolutely clear that airlines must check a passenger's “entire face” before they board a plane.

The measure stems from an early August controversy in which a video released on YouTube showed two Muslim women, their faces covered, boarding an Air Canada flight out of Montreal.

At the time, then-Transport Minister John Baird insisted that airlines were already obligated under “identity screening regulations” to verify the identity of all passengers before they are allowed to board.

The new measure, enacted by recently appointed Transport Minister Chuck Strahl, has been issued because Ottawa discovered the existing rules were not detailed enough.

A temporary order first announcing the new rule attracted little notice when it was released Aug. 28 through a government publication that announces laws, regulations and cabinet orders.

On Friday, however, Ottawa issued an extension to this interim measure.

Nina Chiarelli, a spokeswoman for Mr. Strahl, said the security notice is intended to remind airlines that “in order to meet the requirements of the regulations, air carriers must be able to see the faces of all passengers.”

She said Transport Canada will monitor for compliance and will make further rule adjustments if necessary.

The order says an airline must screen each passenger “and in particular his or her entire face” – comparing it to their personal identification.

It says the carrier must deny travel to air passengers if their picture does not resemble their photo identification or if their gender, or age, appear to differ from what's indicated in their personal identification.

The notice says a corporation that breaks this order could face fines of up to $25,000 and an individual contravening it could incur penalties of up to $5,000.

The early August controversy over the airline boarding video prompted Mr. Baird at the time to order an investigation into airline and airport security because the clip of the incident suggested the women in question were not asked to show their faces.

Back then, Mr. Baird said political correctness was not a valid reason for failing to ask someone to show their face. “It’s one law for all, everyone is treated equally and this is not an invasive request to see someone’s face,” Mr. Baird said in August.

“This is Canada. We’re an open society. It’s part of our Canadian values and principles.”

The airport security issue flared up during the summer following debates in France and in Quebec about wearing veils in public places. A late July poll for the Sun Media organization showed a slight majority of Canadians wanted a ban on the public wearing of burkas, the head-shrouding cloak worn by some Muslim women.

[CD]

Of course, back then Baird was incorrect in his statement as the Security Screening Regulations do not even require photo-id:

5. (1) An air carrier shall, at a boarding gate, screen any person who appears to be 18 years of age or older by asking the person for a restricted area identity card, for one piece of government-issued photo identification that shows his or her name or for two pieces of government-issued identification each of which shows his or her name.

Identity Screening Regulations (SOR/2007-82)

If the interim measure clears things up and requires photo-id as the only means of identification, then there won't be any question...

[Specs]

Fingerprint readers?

[Trader]

If a beard significantly changes your look then it should pose a problem. Then again, in 99.9% of cases and slightly more in depth look at the photo should be more than enough.

[Moon The Loon]

In this day and age, it is so very easy to include biometric information within the pages of a passport, within any credit card and even sub-cutaneous. Biometrics which would include fingerprint, retinal scan info, even DNA. The first two take no time to verify and are in current use within some identity cards in Canada today.

Yes there is a cost.

[Innuendo]

Of course this "Full Face" examination would include males who have recently grown a beard and thus no longer match their 'Non Beard" image on their passport or other government issued photo id. I wonder how long it will take for this issue to create a news story?

I suppose if an individual changes their appearance "significantly" from what is in their passport/ID etc, then the onus could be put on them to renew their documentation to reflect their changed appearance, their choice.