- The Government of Canada says passport photos are no
laughing matter: In fact, you're not even supposed to crack a smile.
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- In a news release yesterday, the Canada Passport Office
issued new
specifications for passport photos and wants serious faces only. But
not too serious. Not actually frowning or scowling or glaring or grimacing.
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- To get a valid passport, Canadians must now send in two
photos with "neutral expressions." That means a closed-mouth,
straight-ahead gaze into the camera.
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- Suzanne Meunier, a spokeswoman with the passport office,
said the government is complying with recommendations of the International
Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for
aviation issues, aimed at making it easier for security personnel to recognize
the passport holder.
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- The new measure took effect on Aug. 15, but there is
a smile amnesty for the next two months to accommodate those who have already
filed happy-looking photos or have not heard of the ban on grins.
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- "We have already received photos with small smiles
that we are ready to accept," Ms. Meunier said.
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- The specifications outline some other dos and don'ts.
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- Don't wear shades that hide your eyes. (Does anyone really
have to be told that?) But you can wear tinted prescription glasses, so
long as your eyeballs are showing.
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- Hairpieces are acceptable, we're told, so long it's not
some sort of Halloween thing that alters your appearance. It has to be
a hairpiece that is worn regularly.
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- As a general rule, hats are out.
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- "A photo in which the applicant is wearing a hat
or head covering or anything that interferes with the photo's value in
providing a means of identifying the issuee for the benefit of border control
is not acceptable for a Canadian passport or travel document."
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- Turbans are fine, as are the head scarves worn by Muslim
women. But not veils that hide the face, favoured by the most conservative
Muslims.
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- "While allowances may be made for practitioners
of religious faiths that prohibit the removal of the head covering, photos
in which the full facial features of the subject are not visible are not
acceptable," the rules say.
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- Ms. Meunier said that so far, the passport office has
had no complaint about religious discrimination resulting from that prohibition.
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- The Civil Aviation Organization is pushing for standardized
photo specifications around the world to facilitate the introduction of
biometric security devices, Ms. Meunier said.
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- The organization's goal is to have face-recognition scanners
in airports around the world in the not too distant future. Some security
experts are arguing for fingerprinting or iris-scanning, but the ICAO believes
those are too intrusive.
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