You too can have an FBI file all your own

When the provincial government in British Columbia announced plans to contract out the billing of its health care insurance premiums to an American company, there was enough concern expressed about the potential effects of the PATRIOT Act that BC's Privacy Commissioner was asked to report on the matter. He has.

Canadians' personal information cannot be protected from the prying eyes of U.S. intelligence agents if it's handled by American firms, a new report says.

In a long-awaited review of the USA Patriot Act, British Columbia Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis yesterday called for a toughening of laws "to address risks posed by transfers of personal information" from Canada to the U.S.

"Our research and analysis led us to the conclusion that the USA Patriot Act knows no borders," the commissioner told a news conference in Victoria.

And, until a deal is reached between Ottawa and Washington to ensure privacy is protected, he said the B.C. government should delay plans to contract out to a U.S. company the billing of its Medical Services Plan health-care insurance premiums.

Now if you think back to the beginning of the month you might recall hearing that the CIBC and RBC Financial have their credit card processing done by a company in Georgia, which exposes their customers to the same possibility that the FBI can go snooping around in their personal information almost at will.

And when I complained in the past that Anne McLellan was way too eager to assure Tom Ridge that he could have access to anything he wanted, you probably thought I was being paranoid.

So how did the BC government react to the news?

But B.C. Management Services Minister Joyce Murray said the government will push ahead...

Here's hoping the good citizens of British Columbia rise up en masse and give Joyce a good smack in the head with a Clue Bat.