Government doing devil's work, says Ontario farmer who fears licence photo
 
JAMES MCCARTEN 
Canadian Press


Wednesday, October 15, 2003

TORONTO -- A farmer and fundamentalist Christian who's convinced that digital driver's licence photos are the work of the devil is taking the Ontario government to court to avoid having his picture taken.

George Bothwell, 57, cradled a gilt-edged King James Bible on his lap and stared at the floor during a news conference Wednesday as he tried to explain why he doesn't want anyone taking digital photos of his face.

"This technology will allow central control over people's behaviour, which the Bible warns us against," said Bothwell, clad in a tweed jacket with the cuffs of his jeans tucked inside black cowboy boots.

"Ethical and moral control is to come from within the individual, not to be imposed from the outside. It is to be voluntary, not something that is involuntary. It has to come from the heart."

Bothwell believes that biometrics - the use of physical identifiers such as fingerprints, retina scans and face recognition - is specifically cited in the book of Revelations as the work of agents of the devil.

He believes that anyone who allows their image to be archived by an outside agency bears "the mark of the beast" and will "drink the wine of the wrath of God" as a result.

But he needs a driver's licence to operate his organic farm and liquid manure spreading business in Owen Sound, Ont., 150 kilometres northwest of Toronto, and wants the Ministry of Transportation to exempt him from the photo requirement on the grounds it's against his religion.

Lawyer Clayton Ruby, who filed an application for a judicial review of Bothwell's case late last month in Superior Court, is convinced he has a case.

While the ministry does allow drivers to apply for a religious exemption, it requires that the religion be held by a "congregation" with a leader who can vouch for its beliefs in writing - a requirement Ruby believes is unconstitutional.

"It is no business of government to be judging the truth or the popularity of a religious belief by requiring that more than one person has to hold it and that you have to prove that it's held by an entire congregation," he said.

"George doesn't have a congregation; he doesn't have a religious leader other than Jesus Christ, whom, as he points out, is not about to write a letter of support for him to the Ontario government."

Bothwell first took to the road in 1962 with a licence that allowed him to drive commercial trucks. When the province introduced photo cards in the late 1986, he was allowed to provide a Polaroid, which he still has on the licence he carries in his wallet.

But in 1997, after the Ministry of Transportation introduced one-piece licences, Bothwell refused to have his picture taken and spent the next several years trying to get an exemption from the ministry.

His application was finally denied late last year.

The ministry exercises strict control over its photo database, said spokesman Bob Nichols. The only time they're ever used for anything else is as evidence in a court proceeding, he said.

"We're like every other jurisdiction in North America; we think there's a sound, legitimate reason for requiring a photo on a driver's licence," Nichols said.

"They're used by police, by us and other driver licensing authorities as a quick, accurate means of identification."

Nichols refused to discuss Bothwell's case in particular because it's before the courts. None of Ontario's 8.3 million licensed drivers have ever been granted a religious exemption, he noted.

"We're always balancing needs, in this case the need for the safety and security of a photo requirement, as well as ensuring that all drivers are treated fairly, with dignity and respect," Nichols said.

Ruby said he's not concerned about his client's credibility.

"I don't think anyone will dismiss him as a wingnut, because these views are widely held; they are held by a number of organized religions," he said.

"It's the Canadian way that we say that government has no right in intruding in deciding what is a valid religion, what will be an approved religion and what will not."

For his part, Bothwell conceded during Wednesday's news conference he was "uncomfortable" being surrounded by an array of digital cameras and recorders.

But he insisted his beliefs are well-founded, particularly in an era when biometrics and the privacy concerns they raise are a hotly debated topic in Canada and elsewhere.

Ruby expects the case to be heard early in the new year.

Smart-card technology that uses biometric information has been talked about for years by the Ontario government. And the idea of using biometrics on passports, permanent resident cards and Ottawa's much talked about national identity card has sparked national debate.

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press

I'm afraid this is all too typical of the society we live in. If this guy wins his case it opens the way for all sorts of weirdos to bypass the system. Whatever the outcome, it's simply wasting court time, not to mention the expense. I can't imagine where it will all end.

And I don't think he wanted the licence to drive, but to operate farm stuff.  I think...