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Canada's privacy commissioner calls on Canadian government to pass a new Privacy Act to protect citizens against foreign intrusion
Ottawa (22 June 2006) - Canada should do a lot more to prevent foreign governments, especially the U.S. with its all-intrusive Patriot Act, from collecting personal information on Canadian citizens, says Jennifer Stoddart, the federal privacy commissioner.
In her annual report to Parliament, Stoddart urges the government to introduce a new Privacy Act to respond to an increasingly worrisome situation, especially since the Patriot Act was passed by the American Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
A large majority of Canadians are worried about the flow of information collected at the U.S. border, Stoddart said, citing a recent poll commissioned by her office.
94% of Canadians are concerned
Stoddart said a poll by EKOS Research Associates in March found that 94% of Canadians have expressed some concern about Canadian companies transferring personal information to companies in other countries.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has been sounding the alarm on this issue for several years, trying to persuade governments and politicians to take it more seriously.
The issue has been especially acute in British Columbia, where the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), one of NUPGE's largest component union's, has taken on the Campbell Liberal government over its decision to privatize the management of huge volumes of information on B.C. citizens to American companies.
Stoddart tells MPs in her latest report that a new Privacy Act is required in Canada to respond to the emergence of "huge government systems that are capable of a surveillance we could not have dreamed of in 1982." The current act has not been amended significantly since it was passed 24 years ago and proclaimed the following year.
Canada Border Services Agency breaking the law
She called on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to take steps to keep better track of the cross-border flow of sensitive data.
"We need transparency. We need to know where our personal information is going," Stoddart told The Canadian Press.
"We need to keep track of it, so we know what is happening to it and who is going to be using it and on what conditions."
The agency is responsible for ensuring the smooth flow of people and goods, while intercepting individuals and items considered a security risk to Canada or its allies.
It collects personal information about millions of travellers, including detailed financial information, family history, travel data and other information such as social insurance and passport numbers.
Stoddart warns that as law enforcement and national security organizations around the world collect increasing amounts of information, there is a risk of incomplete or inaccurate data "leading to undesirable consequences" such as unnecessary scrutiny.
She also said that much of the information the border agency shares with the United States is relayed orally, contravening agency policy and a Canada-U.S. agreement signed more than 20 years ago.
Records missing
Under agency policy, officials must keep records of all customs information requested and released to external organizations.
This is supposed to include the name of the requester, the date the request was received, the purpose for which customs information is required, the nature of the information disclosed and the rationale for the decision taken.
"The CBSA cannot, with a reasonable degree of certainty, report either on the extent to which it shares personal information with the United States, or how much and how often it does so," Stoddart found.
She also said the agency is not even sure that all of the activities it is now engaging in routinely are permitted under the Customs Act and the Privacy Act. NUPGE
More information:
• BCGEU forces Campbell to back down on privatization secrecy
• Big B.C. privatization contract backfiring on B.C. Liberals
• B.C. ignores privacy to outsource medical data to U.S.
• British Columbians double-crossed, says BCGEU
• BCGEU demands halt to outsourcing of private data
• Privacy and the USA Patriot Act pdf
• Patriot Act will prevail over B.C. privacy legislation
• U.S. would overwhelm feeble B.C. privacy protections
• Quick Facts - Powers of the U.S. Patriot Act
• Part 1 - BCGEU Submission to Privacy Commissioner on U.S. Patriot Act pdf
• Part 2 - BCGEU Submission to Privacy Commissioner on U.S. Patriot Act pdf