Credit: Claude Brochu, Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 3.0
With shades of Big Brother from Orson Wells’ dystopian novel, 1948, the municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine in Quebec, Canada will require all visitors to download a QR code to visit and leave their island community, CBC reports.
The island, with a population of 12,000, is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and can only be accessed by boat or plane.
It’s part of the municipality’s plan implemented in 2023 to have people pay a $30 fee to visit the island in 2024, which will be paid via the QR code at departure.
The government originally intended that island residents would also need to download the QR code but backed down after the outrage. It will now only demand citizens show identification when they want to leave. However, many insist this is a violation of their rights under the Charter of Rights and will probably result in a court challenge.
Island residents are also upset because their family and friends will now be required to download the code and pay the fee, in addition to their flight or ferry transport, when they come for a visit.
