Not surprisingly, the different provinces that border on the United States are taking different approaches to meeting the requirements under WHTI. So far, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia are proposing or implementing some form of enhanced driver’s licence and/or photo card. Manitoba, Quebec, and British Columbia have already launched their programs. Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have decided against enhanced driver's licences/enhanced identification cards in favour of passports. Citizens from those provinces will be required to use valid passports for all travel to the United States. While Alberta never was really interested in EDLs, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and PEI all proposed them. Several US border states, including New York, Michigan and Washington, have also begun implementing similar forms of enhanced driver’s licences. British Columbia On April 6, 2009, British Columbia announced that it is now possible to apply for the enhanced driver’s licences and enhanced identification cards (for non-drivers over the age of 12), with appointments starting May 1, 2009. Both cards will cost $35. The BC cards are currently undergoing final approval with the US government. For more information, see the ICBC website. British Columbia is the only province to have conducted a pilot study of the technologies and practices involved in using EDLs. The pilot study was conducted and evaluated in the spring and summer of 2008 using 500 volunteers. The results of this trial, as well as the privacy impact assessment for the pilot are available on their website. The government in BC plans to use what was learned through the pilot improve their system before launching it. Alberta Alberta decided against using EDL because there is too few land crossings to warrant the cost of such a program. Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk explains that “two-thirds of Albertans who travel to the U.S. go by airplane, which already requires a passport”. Saskatchewan Saskatchewan announced the EDL program in July 2009 as an alternative identification option to passports for border crossing for Saskatchewan residents. Bill 72, the Traffic Safety Amendment Act was tabled and passed through two readings. During this time, there was no consultation with the Information and Privacy Commissioners office, and little information public available about what was going on. On March 5, 2009, Gary Dickson, Saskatchewan’s Information and Privacy Commissioner wrote a letter to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly condemning both the Saskatchewan’s proposal and the process and citing Manitoba’s approach as an exemplar to all provinces. On March 23, 2009, the Saskatchewan government issued a press release formally canceling the enhanced driver’s licence program, stating: "Our government has been concerned for some time with factors including changing card requirements, unknown public demand for the card, privacy and security issues, start-up costs and costs going forward for many years for Saskatchewan, and the staffing requirements to deliver this program indefinitely." Manitoba Manitoba launched their Enhanced Identification Card program February 2, 2009. Manitoba's program is considered to be the strongest program among the Canadian provinces in terms of privacy. The legislation, The Drivers and Vehicles Amendment, The Highway Traffic Amendment and Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Amendment is very clear about the risks to personal information and the province worked with the Ombudsman’s office from the early planning stages. As a result the program includes a 48-page Applicant’s Guide and Application Form that clearly discusses the privacy implication of applying to the program. The Ombudsman’s Office has supplemented this information with a clearly stated set of 10 Points of Privacy Awareness that explains the degree of information sharing, that the RFID chip can be read at a distance and not just by authorized people, and the importance of fully understanding the consents before applying among other things. Quebec Quebec launched its Driver’s Licence Plus program March 16, 2009. The planning for Quebec’s EDL has been quite quiet with little to no public debate. Even the information commissioner’s comments have been kept under wraps, according to one Montreal Gazette article. Nova Scotia On August 28, 2008, Nova Scotia announced that it was working with the other Atlantic provinces to create an enhanced driver’s licence. However, with the recent news that New Brunswick and PEI are not proceeding with EDLs, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia government has stated that the province is reconsidering. New Brunswick After reports in late March 2009 that New Brunswick was lagging in the development of its EDL, the province announced March 31, 2009 that it will not go ahead with plans for an enhanced driver's licence, citing that the cost to citizens would be almost as much as a passport. Prince Edward Island PEI is reported to have canceled their plans for an EDL, also citing cost. (The Guardian (Charlottetown), April 4, 2009, not available online). [Last updated 6 Apr 2009]