No Biometric Data Collection at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Center

The Charles Jago Northern Sports Center has introduced finger scanning as the sole means of access to the facility. This means that in order to access the center one must submit to finger scanning which will then be coded and used at all main entry points.

Anyone not submitting to this new policy will not be able to access the facility. Students of the University of Northern British Columbia are forced to pay for membership to this facility which they then may not have access to.

Regardless of how this information is being stored or coded being forced to give this biometric information is a violation of personal privacy and the Personal Information Privacy Act as it is not essential for the running of the facility.

We also object to the gathering of this data on the grounds of lack of consultation with the population at large, failure to inform the public, lack of consistent informed freely given consent, and issues with coerced consent. The first time members heard about this system was when they tried to access the facility. Staff at the front desk are unable to adequately explain the need for such a system or how the data will be handled.

Many people have explained to us how they felt rushed or pushed through the process, and how they were treated as though any questioning of the new system was very unusual and inappropriate. This action taking place at the front desk in front of staff and other students entering the facility can be interpreted as coerced consent by means of embarrassment and withholding the right to refuse submitting of personal information.

Although reaction against the collection of this data on campus is widespread, the fact that certain subgroups are reacting more strongly against it means that this policy is having the unintended effect of being differentially exclusive (specifically with regards to gender as well as minority and historically disadvantaged populations).

We ask that the Charles Jago Northern Sports Center cease the use of this system or introduce clear options for access to the facility for those who are against this policy.

We also ask that there be visible signs indicating the alternative to using biometric data so that students are aware of the alternatives and are not rushed or shamed into submitting personal information when they approach the front desk.