Canada intensifies airport surveillance with digital identity and facial recognition systems

By ramontomeydw // 2022-05-31

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Canada has intensified airport surveillance through digital identity and facial recognition systems under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Public Safety Canada (PSC) touched on these systems through a May 14 statement in the Canada Gazette, noting that these digital travel credentials formed part of the Regulations Amending the Secure Air Travel Regulations (SATR). It mentioned "digitized identification documents, digital identity documents and biometric travel documents" as examples of these credentials. The statement defined "digitized" documents as "digital copies of physical identification documents that are scanned or updated." "Digital" travel documents pertain to soft copies of such that are issued by a government authority. Meanwhile, "biometric" documents refer to "electronic identification that uses biometric identifiers" such as facial recognition. According to PSC, four unidentified air carriers "confirmed their intent to implement innovative identity management solutions in the short to medium term." It added that the department "will continue to engage [other] air carriers and keep [itself] informed on how this area evolves." It appears that Ottawa's pivot toward digital traveler surveillance aligned with a pilot project under the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF's Known Traveler Digital Initiative (KTDI) listed the governments of Canada and the Netherlands as partners, alongside air carriers and airports in both countries. (Related: Airline industry pushing for medical testing, thermal screening, digital IDs and vaccination passports.) The Canadian flag carrier Air Canada, alongside its Dutch counterpart KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, are listed as partners. Airports part of the KTDI include the Schiphol Airport in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport in Quebec and the Toronto Pearson Airport in Ontario. The initiative's website said KTDI "enables consortium partners to access verifiable claims of a traveler's identity data so they can access their credibility, optimize passenger processing and reduce risk." Meanwhile, individual flyers can "manage their own profile and collect digital 'attestations' of their personal data, deciding what data to share and when." "The more attestations a traveler accumulates and shares – the better consortium partners, governments and other parties can provide a smooth and safe travel experience."

Digital system follows tyrannical vaccine mandates on air travelers

The move to subject flyers to digital surveillance in airports followed Ottawa mandating that travelers get injected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in order to board aircraft – another Orwellian edict. Back in October 2021, Canada ordered that any individual traveling by air, train or ship domestically must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The order took effect in January 2022, with few provisions for exceptions. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate ordered by Trudeau effectively banned unvaccinated people from traveling, in turn infringing on their freedom of movement. At least two lawsuits had been filed to challenge the vaccine mandate for travelers in court. The Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) filed one lawsuit in February 2022 on behalf of Maxime Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada. Bernier, who is unvaccinated, had been unable to travel by air to promote his party due to the vaccine mandate. Land travel is only feasible within a limited distance from his residence in Quebec. "The COVID-19 zealots are attempting to gag dissenting voices like mine by any means possible. I have to go and meet people all across Canada to keep my party growing and get the word out. The courts must put an end to this segregation," said Bernier. A month later, the JCCF said it has filed 11 affidavits in the Canadian Federal Court to strike down the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Notably, former Newfoundland Premier Alfred Brian Peckford served as the main applicant in the case. He is the only surviving drafter and signatory to the Canadian Constitution of 1982 and the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. "The vaccinated are allowed to travel by airplane and to see their families, and the unvaccinated are not. This is not the Canada I know and love, and this type of segregation causes me utmost sadness," Peckford noted in his sworn affidavit." Watch InfoWars host David Knight as he talks about digital surveillance technologies at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. This video is from The David Knight Show channel on Brighteon.com.

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Digital system follows tyrannical vaccine mandates on air travelers

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