Canada moves to counter U.S. privacy threat
The government will revamp the wording of future federal contracts with the aim of countering U.S. powers, granted under anti-terrorism laws, to tap into personal information about Canadians.The move is intended to prevent the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation from seeing sensitive Canadian data the government supplies to American firms doing business with federal departments in Ottawa.
The government has also asked all agencies and departments to conduct a "comprehensive assessment of risks" to Canadian information they release to U.S. companies carrying out work under contract.
The U.S.A. Patriot Act, passed following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, gave the FBI broader access to records held by firms in the United States.
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Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart says that if a federal institution hires a U.S. company to process personal information about Canadians, then American laws apply to the data if the work is being done south of the border.The federal Treasury Board leads a working group that is now busy finalizing special clauses to be used in future business proposal requests and contracts.
The group is consulting with Stoddart's office on clauses "that we believe to be fundamental" to include in future request proposals and contracts, says a federal notice recently circulated to departments.
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[Treasury Board spokesman] Makichuk said the overall goal is to try to ward off any concerns about how sensitive Canadian information will be used when contracts are contemplated."We're starting at the planning stages now, as opposed to looking at it at the back end," he said. "Call it a culture shift if you wish, or just more awareness."
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Last October, departments were asked to examine their contracting practices as they relate to the handling of personal data, commercial secrets and information concerning national security.The Treasury Board wants each agency to devise a strategy for dealing with possible risks the Patriot Act might pose to the privacy of Canadian information.
It only took them three years but I guess we should be thankful they're moving at all. Of course it remains to be seen whether there are, in fact, any "clauses" they can insert in contracts that will effectively ward off the powers that the FBI had dropped in their lap by the Patriot Act.
The notice circulated to departments lists several contracting scenarios, suggesting the solution in one hypothetical case might be to "have part or all of the work completed within Canadian government facilities, especially when dealing with information of national security interest."
Now why do I see a NAFTA challenge in our future?
"Now why do I see a NAFTA challenge in our future?"
Because there is very likely to be one. Most people on both sides of the border have very little understanding of how NAFTA impinges on sovreignty as it now stands and we have idiots out there who want to enhance NAFTA to make the situation worse.
There was some issue a while back about EU countries refusing to allow the release of confidential info to American companies for just this reason but I don't know how or if that was ever resolved.
BTW - check your email.
I'm still not sure of what I'm reading in the CTV source: have any federal institutions outsourced work to U.S. companies? Do we know?
It seems to me that the first question should be: if so, why?
Except, if the outsourcing is already going on, then maybe there are more urgent concerns. Like: I want my files back!
skdadl--
Don't know about Federal, but out here on the Left Coast we have outsourced Provincial utiliy and health care records to Accenture and Maximum respectively, two wee Multinat kids on the block that just 'luv the Patriot Act.
I read somewhere during the debate going on outside BC's Parliament (god forbid the Campbell Liberals provide opportunity to be open and accountable) that the feds cancelled a contract due to the Patriot Act.
Either the BC Govt is stupid or they just don't care on this stuff. As the Gazetter, (Location:49?15'N; 123?08'W, Vancouver, Canada )stated, they contracted out to some American companies and then passed legislation supposedly to keep these companies from complying with the Patriot Act.
"Like a tin pot govt in Victoria is going to trump the FBI. Stupid is my guess."
When BC first made these kind of noises last year, I surmised that they only reason they were doing it was to deal with NDP complaints about hospitals and other government agencies continuing to outsource their data entry needs through contracts with cheaper US data entry companies rather than using Canadian companies or (horrors!) actually hiring more civil servants to do this work.
Such a law might make everyone feel OK with these contracts, but in actual fact I do not think any Canadian citizen would ever be able to sue a US business about revealing their data to a US agency -- Canadian courts don't have jurisdiction, and American courts would follow US law rather than Canadian law.
But it makes us all feel warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?