Responding to a complaint from Ontario's information and privacy commissioner, federal Immigration Minister Denis Coderre denies excluding experts who disagree with his policies from a biometrics conference planned for this week.

Ann Cavoukian says she couldn't get an invitation to the fall forum on biometrics, even though she's a leading world expert on the use of fingerprints or iris scans as security identifiers.

Cavoukian, a vocal critic of Coderre's proposed national identity card, said she wrote the minister in August asking for an invitation to the two-day meeting organized by his department, which starts Tuesday in Ottawa.

She was rebuffed with a form letter from Coderre's office last month, she said.

When confronted with the accusation on CTV's Question Period Sunday, Coderre said he knew nothing about the alleged snub.

"We didn't exclude anybody. Frankly, (it's the) first time I heard about it... So I do not know what you're talking about," Coderre told host John Ibbitson.

But the minister stopped short of extending an invitation to Cavoukian, or her B.C. counterpart, David Loukidelis, who has not been asked to attend either.

"We have people that represent all levels," Coderre said.

"It's a very balanced forum. We will have over 120 experts from every side of the pros and cons. So listen, I'm not going to negotiate who is invited, who is not.

"It's an inclusive debate."

But in an interview, Cavoukian said her exclusion is a signal the forum is stacked.

"It suggests to me more of a pretense of public consultation than the reality," Cavoukian said.

"Excluding key players ... who have repeatedly attempted to obtain an invitation. ... Certainly they don't want my voice to be heard in that forum."

Coderre says more than 120 experts "from every side" would be attending the forum when it kicks off Tuesday.

The conference roster includes keynote speaker Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School, industry representatives including Colin Soutar of Bioscrypt Inc., as well as American and British policy experts, and Canadian experts and pollsters.

The inclusion of Dershowitz has raised some critics' eyebrows as the American lawyer has become a recognized biometrics booster since Sept. 11, 2001. He has been accused of being placed on the lineup in a bid to boost Coderre's case for a national identity card.

The citizenship minister has argued a secure national identity card containing biometric data would help Canadians by preventing others from committing fraud with their personal data. It would also make travel easier as borders become more tightly controlled.

But privacy advocates say the features could be misused, and suggest Canada could be bowing to pressure from the United States to tighten security.

Coderre noted federal interim privacy commissioner Robert Marleau would be participating, as will Quebec's information commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, who is scheduled to speak on the second day of the forum.

The two-day conference is a place for debate, not pumping up a decision that's already been made, Coderre said.

"This is a debate about (whether) the system should change or not."

"The real question is: should we use biometrics? How can we be a step ahead against fraud, against criminals, against terrorism and at the same time protect our own privacy?"

With a report from The Canadian Press