Tourists and others arriving at Halifax's Robert Stanfield International Airport from the United States and overseas are discovering something new.
24 primary inspection kiosks or 'PIKs' have been installed at Stanfield International Airport, with 15,000 passengers have gone through them in the last six to eight weeks.
Airport authorities say they can cut the time you spend in customs by about half. Putting in your information and having it verified can take as little as two minutes, and officials say the machines will add an extra level of security.
"The screen will scan your face and compare it against the passport, and it's a very efficient and effective way to verify that we actually have the right person there with their own passport," explains Calvin Christiansen of the Canada Border Services Agency.
Nova Scotia MP and Treasury Board President Scott Brison says it's about keeping up with the rest of the world. "We can't be a Blockbuster government when serving a Netflix citizenry," Brison told media.
You can even get a head start on your CBSA paperwork while the plane is still in the air, by downloading an app that allows you start filling in the information.
Officials say the machines won't be replacing human employees.
"It's not a job cutting measure at all, it's a processing measure, because we're at the point in many of our airports where there are so many travellers coming that we need a better process to get them through," says Calvin Christiansen.
Passenger rights activist Gabor Lukas says he likes automated customs kiosks because they don't have cultural biases, make objective decisions and feel less evasive.
But Lukas says he's not so sure about the downloadable phone apps.
"You don't really know what it does, you don't know how much of your data it is going to send over that link the data lane that is established when you land," says Lukas.
So far the kiosks have been installed at five Canadian airports, and have been used by five million passengers.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw.
