Hazard! Dispatches from the privacy front, part 4

The Toronto Sun reports on January 8 that

U.S. border agents will soon have access to the immigration and tax records of Canadian residents for use in nabbing terrorists before they cross the American border. U.S. officials said an impending merger of Canadian and U.S. immigration and customs databases will also help them intercept illegal aliens, criminals and fugitives.

Officials said the measure will give U.S. front-line agents the power to check Canadian residents - citizens, immigrants, refugees or visitors - driving into the U.S. at land crossings.

They said U.S. officers will have access to Revenue Canada files, which contain tax information on Canadians, including their work records, property owned and investments.

That information may lead to unemployed people being refused entry into the U.S., officers said.

The merging of databases is one of 32 points in a smart border action plan that has been in the works since 2002.

Yeah, we all know how dangerous unemployed Canadians are.