Border facial ID urged!

TORONTO -- Canadian border service agents are calling for facial recognition cameras at major border crossings.

The hi-tech cameras that scan the faces of travellers to compare against photos in police databases are needed at 12 to 15 busy Canada-U.S. border crossings, officers say.

Ron Moran, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the cameras can scan the faces of people as they are interviewed by officers at airports or land border crossings.

"As we talk to people at the booth, their faces are being scanned," he said. "This technology will make sure sure that people who are inadmissible do not get into the country."

The cameras can capture the faces of everyone in a vehicle, he said.

"The technology will cost some money," Moran noted, but added, "It also cost us money every time an inadmissible person gets into the country and has to be removed."

The union has been pushing for the cameras for several years, he said.

The Canada Border Services Agency is studying the technology and has not made a final decision on its use.

Ontario allows the use of such cameras inside casinos.

tom.godfrey@sunmedia.ca