TORONTO — Ontario should cancel plans for RFID-based photo ID cards and drivers’ licences unless it ensures the privacy of Canadians is protected, warns the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Graeme Norton of the group says the high-tech system Ontario and other provinces are planning could result in a "privacy nightmare." He adds that the new cards "are a waste of money and establish a de facto national ID card in Canada," which tramples on citizens’ civil liberties.

In June, The Ontario government introduced the Photo Card Act, which, if passed, would allow Ontarians to use an enhanced driver’s licence as an alternative to a passport when crossing Canada-U.S. borders by land and sea.

Starting June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will require all visitors to prove their citizenship at land border ports of entry under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

The plan is touted as a cheaper and easier alternative to passports, which will mitigate congestion and wait-times at border crossings.

Truck drivers who are FAST-approved can use those cards in lieu of a passport. 

However, critics insist that the radio frequency identification devices (RFID) chips imbedded in the cards are not secure and information stored in the cards could fall into the wrong hands.

"The introduction of enhanced driver’s licences, which appears to be a central focus of Bill 85, will lay the groundwork for a new and more extensive identity regime, the effects of which are not fully known," Norton told a Ontario government standing committee.

Norton speculated that while the cards would be voluntary for now, that may not be the case in the future.