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Kitchener / Waterloo Passport Pictures
only $12.99 - 5 Min, Read article below on new regulation.
Highland Portrait Studio. 519-744-5553
New passport rules put focus on security
Many photos rejected as studios scramble to meet
tougher regulations
CAROL GOODWIN
KITCHENER (Feb 13, 2003)
Holograms and crystagrams, "ghost"
photographs and optically variable ink.
They are features of the new "fraud-resistant" Canadian
passport, and anyone applying for one may find the stricter process means
photos taken the old way could be rejected by the passport office.
It's been quite a hassle for some businesses providing the service.
Sarah Andrews, a Waterloo
regional police officer, discovered her photo wasn't acceptable when she
went to the Kitchener
passport office this week with her application documents.
Andrews was told that the pictures of her and her husband, Rob
Andrews, did not have a pure white background and had slight shadowing.
She was told to have the pictures retaken.
"I had it taken in Milton,
where I live," Andrews said. "I have to go back there so I can
get it retaken without paying again."
Agreeing it was a hassle, Andrews shrugged. She said it wasn't urgent.
Blame it on Sept. 11 and tougher security measures adopted by the
passport office, which is governed by the federal Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade.
Last May, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham announced that the new
documents, "designed to make the Canadian passport one of the safest
travel documents in the world," would be phased in as people applied
for them.
Local passport offices, including the one in Kitchener,
were directed last September to be much more stringent in adhering to the
specifications, said David Graham, communications officer with the
federal department.
"The specifications were always there. But passport examiners
would usually accept them if they were the right size," Graham said.
While his department received some complaints late last year, they
were mostly from irate photographers of passport pictures, who didn't
know the new rules, he said. He could not say how many pictures have been
rejected.
WIDELY ADVERTISED
Graham said the new rules were widely advertised.
While some photography outlets contacted by The Record are still using
the Polaroid method, most have invested in digital cameras.
At the Blacks Photography outlets in Fairview
Park mall and Stanley Park
Mall in Kitchener, sales
clerk Crystal Bishop said "lots" of pictures were returned --
about half during December alone.
"The problem was that the background was not white enough. Even a
small dark corner wasn't acceptable," she said. The outlets still do
passport photos, and have improved their methods, she added.
At Heer's Camera Shop, which has four
outlets in the area, Stuart Cybulskie said his
company got digital cameras when they learned about the tighter rules
last year. But there's a higher charge now, up to $20 from about $12 for
a set, he said.
BJ Photo of Waterloo also
received a lot of rejected photos in December, but changed their studio
light settings to comply with the stricter requirements, said sales clerk
Beata Toth.
The new passports are also more expensive: $85 for adults, $35 for
children three to 15, and $20 for infants to age three. For urgent
service add $70, for express service add $30. These fees went into effect
in December 2001. Prior to that adult passports cost $60.
Graham said as soon as the reasons for the tighter measures are
explained, the complaints end.
"There has been a remarkable turnaround, with the Canadian
Automobile Association heading the pack with their new digital
system," he added.
The photos have to be shadow-free on a white background because they
are digitally scanned and "embedded" into the passport page,
Graham said. Some photos may be rejected if there's a reflection on
glasses that may slightly alter the person's appearance.
The new passport includes a series of holographic images called a crystagram, embossed on the page. When the booklet is
tilted, Canadian Mounties appear to move across the page.
The optically variable ink changes colour
under different lighting, while a "ghost" photo of the passport
holder will appear only under ultraviolet light.
Even the holder's personal data and signature will be digitally
printed and embedded in the page, which means it can't be removed or
erased.
The passport office issues close to two million Canadian passports a
year. There are eight million currently in circulation, Graham said.
That is partly why the passport offices don't do the photographs
on-site, as is done in provincial drivers' licence
offices.
For more information about Canadian passport requirements, visit http://www.ppt.gc.ca
cgoodwin@therecord.com
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