The global push to get countries to expand the use of digital ID almost received a major boost in Canada last fall, federal records show.
Among the digital ID schemes were those intended for pensioners, people filing taxes, and employment insurance (EI) claimants. That is described as “optional,” cost $6.4 million – and has, for now, failed, reports say.
The process of attempting to introduce this “fast and efficient” access to government services was less than optimal: it was pushed by unelected regulators, circumventing the country’s parliament, which got several MPs to criticize the move for potential of surveillance-linked abuses, but also for cost and security.
And these are the key points cited by opponents of digital IDs the world over – these are programs that aim to amass and centralize huge amounts of personal data, that becomes accessible to the authorities.
Shared Services Canada issued a proposal notice last October regarding what it called digital credentials, saying they are the equivalent of physical credentials (such as Canada’s Social Insurance Numbers) and work via a digital wallet.
However, when a parliamentary inquiry looked into the issues brought up by skeptical MPs, the government responded that there were no plans to either “consider or introduce” digital ID.
However, the Shared Services’ notice begs to differ: the possibility has clearly been at least “considered.”
Now, another notice has been published that said the government was working with local and provincial partners to come up with digital credentials that would be “a foundational pillar” for modern services while promising that this would somehow be happening with “trust, speed, and security” guaranteed.
And should the government opt to implement digital credentials at the federal level, going forward, this would be on an “optional” basis.
Not for nothing, since the general mood among Canadians has not been positive toward such developments, the possibility of introducing a digital currency (CBDC) among them. CBDCs come with the same type of baggage regarding the risk of mass surveillance and data security as digital IDs in general.
Yet, this has not been ruled out. The Bank of Canada has announced that “cash isn’t going anywhere” – but that’s not the same as “there will be no digital Canadian dollar.”
In fact, the bank applied for a trademark for one in December, but said that the decision “belongs to Canadians through their representatives in parliament.”
