With the advent of computer
networking, concerns have arisen with respect to the privacy of personal information,
especially that generated through business transactions. These concerns were confirmed in
research studies carried out in 1993 and 1995 and in an Angus Reid poll conducted in 1998.
Canadians reported that privacy, like unemployment and the economy, is a high priority.
Most Canadians firmly believe that they should control what is known about them and by
whom; however, in this age of rapidly advancing technologies, it is often difficult to
detect when privacy rights are being eroded or to know how to respond to this situation.
In an electronic world, businesses have
been quick to realize the value of their information holdings, which can be manipulated
and sold without the knowledge or consent of the individuals they refer to. Unfortunately,
regulations safeguarding information privacy have not kept pace with advancing
technologies. For example, the federal Privacy Act applies only to the collection,
use, disclosure and disposal of personal information by government and government
agencies. The same is true of provincial legislation, with the exception of Quebec’s,
which covers both the public and private sectors.
The Information Highway Advisory Council
was created in 1994 by the Minister of Industry to help the federal government develop and
implement a strategy for Canada’s Information Highway. In 1995, the Council
recommended that personal information be protected through the creation of a flexible
legislative framework covering both the public and private sectors. On 15 October
1999, Bill C-6, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, aimed at
protecting personal information in the private sector, was introduced in the House of
Commons. The bill had originally been tabled in the House of Commons in October 1998 as
Bill-54; that bill died on the Order Paper with the prorogation of Parliament in September
1999.
There are also international pressures for
regulating the protection of personal information in Canada’s private sector. The
European Union’s Directive on Data Protection now prohibits member countries
(and businesses within those countries) from transferring personal information to
non-members of the Union, such as Canada, that do not guarantee it adequate protection.
With the exception of Quebec, Canada does not currently meet this standard.
There are also privacy concerns with
respect to practices in the public sector. For example, as governments seek leaner, more
efficient and cost-effective administrations, comparisons between and integrations of what
were once discrete databases are on the rise. This so-called "data matching" and
"data warehousing" of personal information is now taking place both within and
between governments. Data protection is also of concern as service delivery is
increasingly being shared by or transferred between government and the private sector.
Finally, in view of the unique and sensitive nature of health information, the federal
government’s proposed national health strategy (a national health data network) is
arousing privacy fears even amongst Canadian doctors.
While emerging technologies clearly offer
valuable advantages, efficiencies and conveniences, we must ask whether these benefits
come with a privacy price tag and whether this price is too high. These questions were
tackled by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of
Persons with Disabilities in 1996-97. The Committee discovered that the protection of
personal information is clearly regarded as important in this country; however, in a world
of increasingly intrusive technologies (e.g., video monitoring, genetic testing and
biometric identification systems), other privacy interests are also at stake. In its
report Privacy: Where Do We Draw The Line?, the Committee saw privacy as an
important and wide-ranging human right that is currently under threat. Unfortunately, the
Committee found that Canadians and their governments are still using tools that are
inadequate for meeting the current, let alone the future, challenges to privacy in this
country.
SELECTED REFERENCES
House of Commons Standing Committee on
Human Rights and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Privacy: Where Do We Draw the
Line? Third Report. 2nd Session, 35th Parliament, April 1997.
Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Annual
Report. 1997-1998.