David Canton – for the London Free Press – May 6, 2006

Read this on Canoe

Technology has made the movement of information across borders quick and easy.

It has led to concerns, however, as governments increasingly want to look at data.

Ottawa responded to this in the recently released Report on Assessment of Privacy Concerns Related to the U.S. Patriot Act. Released with it was a multipart federal strategy titled Privacy Matters: the Federal Strategy to Address Concerns About the USA Patriot Act and Transborder Data Flows.

This matter affects all Canadians, as it is common for businesses and institutions to hire service providers outside Canada to manipulate data.

One example is the processing of credit card transactions. In many cases, it’s not practical or economical to keep all the information in Canada.

Once outside Canada, information may become subject to the laws of a foreign government.

Information stored or accessible in the U.S., for example, may be subject to its Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism legislation passed shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.

The act allows U.S. law enforcement officials to access information about individuals without their knowledge.

This includes access to personal information about Canadians — if the information is stored in, or accessible from, the U.S. This is a troubling proposition to many Canadians.

The federal strategy revolves around three main factors.

* Protecting privacy is a shared responsibility between the federal government, the provincial governments and the private sector.

* Privacy rights must be balanced with other important interests, including international trade, public safety and national security.

* New strategies should build on existing legislation.

The first step started with the government raising awareness within its departments about the privacy issues generated by the U.S. Patriot Act. They were required to evaluate the risks created by their outsourcing practices and minimize the risks.

A number of followup initiatives are to take place in the short and long term, including an assessment of federal contracting activities, ongoing contract advice and implementation of risk management strategies for contracting where information may be at risk under the U.S. Patriot Act or other foreign laws.

Although the strategy developed by the federal government does not eliminate the potential for the U.S. Patriot Act and other foreign legislation to be utilized to access private information about Canadian citizens, it’s a step toward protecting the privacy interests of Canadians in an ever-changing world.