This initiative—details of which were revealed to Motherboard in documents obtained through an access to information request—shows that the Canadian government is reigniting its focus on biometrics after a similar attempt a decade ago fizzled out. According to these documents, which include emails, meeting agendas, and briefing reports, the meetings are an effort to coordinate the critical mass of biometrics programs that exist across many government agencies, particularly those relating to national security.

For over a year, Canadian military, intelligence, police, and border agencies have been meeting to develop and coordinate their biometric capabilities, which use biological markers like facial recognition and iris scanning to identify individuals.

"If information is being shared behind the scenes with organizations or agencies that an individual is not informed about, then that wipes out consent," Brenda McPhail, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's privacy project, told me. "Our privacy laws are based on consent."

Spokespeople for various government branches also stressed that no actual biometric information is being shared between agencies at these meetings, which would be a major concern for privacy advocates. But documents show that database sharing was part of the discussions, raising questions about how Canadians' biometric information is handled behind closed doors.

"The [initiative] was established … to encourage information-sharing and foster collaboration between federal departments and agencies that have an interest in biometric technologies and their applications," Department of National Defence (DND) spokesperson Ashley Lemire wrote Motherboard in an email. (DRDC falls under DND's umbrella.)

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (the country's CIA analogue), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as the country's border and immigration agencies are all participants in the "Government of Canada Biometrics Community of Practice" (CoP), which had its first meeting in March of 2016.

DND spokesperson Daniel LeBouthillier confirmed to Motherboard that the agencies meeting on biometrics don't share any actual biometric data, like fingerprints or facial scans. However, meeting transcripts suggest that database sharing and closer cooperation between domestic agencies was discussed.

It's not clear what input, if any, police or spies have had on the facial recognition kiosks. A spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) wrote Motherboard in an email that the program was "developed independently from the Biometrics Working Group [a previous title for the community of practice] and the CoP."

"The [kiosk program] is one of the biggest projects right now," Campbell said, describing how information swapping occurs between departments at these meetings. "They say, 'Here's what we're doing,' and then there's discussion, and maybe someone will say, 'Oh, this is similar to what we're doing,' or, 'Hey, did you have trouble with this?'"

At least one current government project—the Canadian Border Services Agency's facial recognition kiosks at airports —was discussed at meetings in the year leading up to the kiosks being rolled out in early 2017, according to John Campbell , a consultant at the Ottawa-based Bion Biometrics f i r m. He assisted DRDC in coordinating the biometrics group and has attended every meeting to date, he said in an interview.

Similar working groups exist in the US to ensure that "all the biometric systems in different departments could communicate to ensure they could share information on known and suspected terrorists," Campbell wrote. "We have the same problem to a smaller degree with DND and RCMP and CBSA and [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] needing to share information."

Campbell of Bion Biometrics wrote an email to DRDC staff prior to the first meeting in March of 2016 that seems to indicate that sharing biometric data was part of the motivation in setting up the initiative.

The working group should offer "cooperation on database access" between DND, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the CBSA, an undated summary from a DRDC meeting to establish what the initiative can offer participants states. The group could also allow the DND to analyze biometric data it collected in Afghanistan, which it was not previously permitted to do, the summary continues.

While in Afghanistan, the Canadian Armed Forces collected biometric markers from locals who were suspected or believed to pose a threat to soldiers, and from shrapnel collected after bomb blasts, according to background info provided by DND.

Under the DND's Afghanistan-era policy, these biometrics could only be used to support the mandates from Operation Enduring Freedom (the US military's term for the war) and NATO's now-concluded security mission in the country. Under this policy, other uses of biometrics collected in Afghanistan, like sharing them with border agents, would have required government approval. DND did not provide Motherboard with the current policy in time for publication.

Additionally, representatives from the RCMP who attended the CoP's inaugural meeting said that the federal police force "wants to be able to talk more to Canadian government rather than just their foreign partners, but this can be a problem because of security clearances."