Patriot Act Raises Canadian Privacy Fears

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

One Canadian province is sounding the alarm over whether or not a U.S. anti-terrorism law invades its citizens’ privacy, which could affect the way American firms do business with our neighbors to the north.

According to Reuters’ Allan Dowd, British Columbia’s top privacy official, Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis, is currently probing complaints that the U.S. Patriot Act allows the FBI to use U.S. firms with foreign subsidiaries to gain access to Canadians’ medical and financial records. Dowd says B.C. is one of the first foreign jurisdictions to look at the Act outside of the U.S.

In March, the province signed a tentative agreement to turn its medical record-keeping operations over to the Canadian unit of American IT firm Maximus, but that act drew criticism from public employee unions and civil libertarians. Dowd says that civil libertarians in both the U.S. and Canada “say Canada must take steps to protect its citizens’ private information, but U.S. security officials and firms that collect and store personal data say the fears are overblown.”

Loukidelis is due to release a report later this month to say whether he believes the fears about the U.S. law are valid, and to give his recommendations to address those concerns. The law, enacted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, gives the FBI broad powers to collect information from companies without letting the subject of the probe know he/she is under investigation.

To read the full Reuters report, click here: http://www.boston.com/
news/world/canada/articles/2004/10/03/us_patriot_act_raises_canadian_privacy_fears/

[Hekate]

1. My cuz in BC is really flipped out about this & the provisions...

...allowing Homeland Security agents access far over the border into Canada's interior. The medical records thing made him swear up and down he wanted out of the state health care system, but I don't know if he followed through on that.

He has good reason to distrust the intelligence-gathering arm(s) of the US, as when he left this country in the mid-60s the FBI harassed his parents and sisters, and for a time got his father (who was a retired USAF colonel) confused with him (jr? sr? what's the diff?). Come to think of it, the more things change the more they remain the same.

Hekate

[Lisa]

2. the BC public service unions are doubly upset

First, that our neo-con provincial government would outsource our medical records (taking away jobs from BC people) -- and second, because of the potential for breaches of privacy. (This on top of Lockheed-Martin bidding to conduct our national census!) There has been a lot of opposition here on the coast.

[Hekate]

3. You have neocons too? Now you're scaring me...

...I've been counting on your government to remain sane in case mine doesn't regain its equilibrium any time soon.

Hekate