The biometric sample that's collected in enrollment when the visa is granted can be compared at the border with the person who presents themselves.

3. The Commission shall present, three years after the VIS is brought into operation and every four years thereafter, a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of Articles 13, 17, 40 to 44 of this Regulation, including the implementation of the collection and use of biometric identifiers, the suitability of the ICAO standard chosen, compliance with data protection rules, experience with external service providers with specific reference to the collection of biometric data, the implementation of the 59-month rule for the copying of fingerprints and the organisation of the procedures relating to applicati ...[+++]ons.

I know you're new to the committee, but with regard to the permanent card and biometrics, we in fact recommended as a committee that we support biometrics.

Without prejudice to the adoption of the proposal for the Visa Information System, Member States who will be implementing the VIS Regulation should plan for the collection of biometric data for the VIS, at consular posts, on a coordinated and coherent regional basis, that reflects the problems of illegal migration and threats to the internal security of the Member States and the feasibility of collecting biometric data from all locations. Those Member States should endeavour to be in a position to collect all the biometric data requir ...[+++]ed for the VIS within 24 months of the commencement of the roll out. Those Member States should endeavour to be in a position to commence the collection of biometric data for the VIS in early 2007, which should begin with consular posts in North Africa and the Near East regions. To facilitate the development of a collaborative approach and the completion of the roll out within the time table, every effort should be made to resolve outstanding issues, in particular, the methods of collection of biometric data. Those Member States should also plan to process biometric data at border crossing points in a coordinated and coherent manner that complements the collection of the data at consular posts".

Ms. Libby Davies: Is the contract not just let, though, to actually look at the use of biometrics on these cards?

I would submit to you that surely an existing travel document such as the Canadian passport will be far preferable to include a biometric on, as opposed to creating an entirely new system, an entirely new scheme that is not only going to be costly but can function very much as an internal passport that Canadians would have to use, potentially, within this country of ours (1540) Not only would adding a biometric to an existing travel document, such as a passport, be far less expensive, but the collection of the biometrics could also be limited to those that could be used by Canadians who choose to travel abroad.