From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

By 2026, Canadians driving to the United States will be asked to pre-submit photos, license plate numbers and other information to the Canada Border Services Agency through a mobile application as part of its ‘traveller modernization’ plan.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has introduced their plan to implement a new ArriveCAN style border crossing application by 2026. 

According to a federal report obtained November 14 by Blacklock’s Reporter, by 2026 Canadians driving to the United States will be asked to pre-submit photos and license plate numbers to the Canada Border Services Agency through a mobile application as part of its “traveller modernization” plan. 

“Travellers will use a redesigned advance declaration mobile application to submit their digital photo, advance declaration and license plate information in advance of arrival,” wrote the Agency.   

The report noted that the new plan is separate from the notorious ArriveCAN app which monitored and collected information from Canadians leaving or entering the country during the COVID “pandemic,” however there are some notable similarities.     

Under the forthcoming regime, Canadians will “provide their biographic, biometric declaration and other border-related information prior to arriving at the port of entry,” and officers “will be given smartphones to access the digital referrals and process them,” which the government says is “expected to save time.”  

It remains unknown if the program will be mandatory like the ArriveCAN app once was, or what will happen to Canadians who refuse to register. During the ArriveCAN system, which was described as “tyranny” by a Canadian Border Agent, those who failed to comply with the mandate were subjected to hefty fines. 

When the app was mandated, all travelers entering Canada had to use it to submit their travel and contact information as well as any COVID vaccination details before crossing the border or boarding a flight.   

At the time, top constitutional lawyers argued that ArriveCAN violated an individual’s constitutional rights.

In addition to tracking the 60 million people crossing land borders each year, the new program outlined similar electronic tracking for marine passengers and air passengers to be introduced in 2027 and 2028 respectively.  

The proposed system comes after the ArriveCAN app was ultimately scrapped following a number of scandals. Among the scandals was the app’s $54 million price tag, $8.9 million of which was given to an obscure company called GC Strategies which was operated by a two-man team out of an Ontario home.

The app and its creation has been under investigation since November 2022 after the House of Commons voted 173-149 for a full audit.  

Of particular interest to the auditors is getting to the bottom of how and why various companies such as Dalian, Coaradix, and GC Strategies received millions in taxpayer dollar contracts to develop the program.

LifeSiteNews last year reported about two tech entrepreneurs who testified before the House of Commons’ investigative committee that during the development of the app they saw federal managers firsthand engage in “extortion,” “corruption,” and “ghost contracting,” all at the expense of taxpayers.