Hands across the border

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by GEORGE MADDUX

American and Canadian officials have started a united databank to pool the "biometric hand geometry" of citizens as part of the Nexus program to speed border crossings. The program will allow travellers to roll by border crossings by displaying a pass with an embedded computer chip that launches a photo and other personal information. Government cameras will not only judge the card, they'll also discern whether it's the correct person's paw holding it. "The system produces an algorithm of your hand shape--how far your knuckles are apart and all those things that are unique to you," says Garrett Cuzner, manager at Immigration Canada at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.

About 100 travellers a day have had their hands photographed as part of a security interview in the three weeks since applications have been accepted for the project. The program begins November 28 at the border between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. If successful, the Nexus program will reach the Quebec-U.S. border within a couple of years.

The initiative has led four American and Canadian government agencies to hammer out an unprecedented agreement for shared standards of eligibility. American Customs and Immigration have traditionally been more tolerant than Canadian officials of those with prior convictions for drunk driving, whereas Canada has overlooked convictions of marijuana possession of less than 30 grams. "We reached the lowest common denominator--nobody with a criminal conviction can get this pass," says Cuzner.

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