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Let's Talk

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Let's Talk

VOL. 30, NO. 2

CSC Links Up with Passport Canada

BY Jaimie Banks, Communications Officer, Information Management Services

Photo: Bill Rankin

Right to left: Robert Small and Elias Constantatos, Employment Counsellors, Toronto Employment Centre
Standing, left to right: Gérard Lauzon, Gino Lechasseur, Garry Mohr, Nathalie Gervais, Richard Harvey, Nancie Proulx, John Milchak, Mel Sater. Seated: Robert Riel, Doreen Steidle

On March 31, 2005, CSC inked a deal with Passport Canada to allow electronic information sharing concerning offenders under CSC’s jurisdiction.

The two departments had been sharing little information, and there was a recognized need on both sides to improve upon the method and the extent of information sharing. As stated in the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, offenders on day parole, full parole, statutory release or unescorted temporary absences are to “remain at all times in Canada.” To establish who these people were and to determine instances in which offenders’ passports should be refused or revoked, Passport Canada needed more information from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

“An electronic link between the two departments will make the exchange immediate,” explains Dan Kingsbury, chief of communications for Passport Canada.“This memorandum of understanding [MOU] between the two parties really facilitates the flow of information between the two sides.” The importance of such an agreement became apparent as public safety concerns became a bigger issue across the globe.

There are numerous benefits to this new agreement for both Passport Canada and CSC. As soon as the links are in place between the two departments, Passport Canada will be provided with access to information — names and known aliases, gender, date and place of birth, photograph and warrant expiry date — on all current offenders. With that, Passport Canada will be able to identify any offenders currently holding valid passports. This will allow officials to review the circumstances of the case, possibly resulting in the revocation of some passports. After that one-time information transfer, CSC will continue to provide Passport Canada with daily updates concerning new offenders. Passport Canada will also be able to request electronic updates via the CSC database if there is any indication that a passport applicant may also be an offender.

However, CSC wanted to be certain that privacy issues were respected, and in that regard Passport Canada will also have access to offenders’ warrant expiry dates, and will purge all records related to individuals who are no longer considered offenders. This is determined by a definition laid out in the MOU.

CSC also benefits from the exchange. After Passport Canada requests information from the CSC database, CSC will be provided with information pertaining to all passports that are revoked, refused, maintained or issued to offenders. As soon as Passport Canada takes a decision concerning a passport for an offender, that information will be electronically sent to CSC. This quick method of transmitting information ensures that both CSC and Passport Canada are doing their utmost to meet their respective mandates, and it allows Passport Canada to have the necessary information on hand when determining an applicant’s eligibility.

This MOU represents a momentous step taken together by CSC and Passport Canada to better serve the public. Along with allowing CSC up-to-date information on offenders who put in requests for passports, sharing information electronically will save time and resources, making it quicker and easier to have essential information at the fingertips of those who need it.

Estimates are that the electronic links will be in place and functioning by this fall, allowing the two departments time to perfect the process and work out all the details, including specific instructions for operational units.♦

 

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