Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 25/01) - The information age has made it increasingly difficult for Canadians to maintain their privacy.
But George Radwanski, the privacy commissioner of Canada, says a new federal law that restricts how private companies collect personal information will help.
The Personal Information Protection and Electronics Document Act applies to all businesses that store, monitor or disclose personal information.
Under the new Act, private companies can only collect personal information within reasonable limits and with the consent of their customers.
For example, a bank may collect credit information required for a loan application and has the right to reject applications based on this data. But the bank must use the information only for the purpose it was initially collected.
It is also against the law to coerce consent by witholding services when customers refuse to give out excessively personal information.
In his first decision under the new Act, Radwanski banned the street cameras that were set up by Centurion Securities in downtown Yellowknife.
Radwanski sent investigators to look into the complaint, filed by Elaine Keenan Bengts, the information and privacy commissioner for the NWT. Based on their findings, he concluded that Centurion Services violated the Act.
"No one should have to go through life feeling like someone is metaphorically or literally looking over their shoulder because then we are not truly free," said Radwanski.
President of Centurion Securities said:"The camera project is dead."
Given that the commissioner's investigations are complaint-driven, will Canadian companies comply with the law, even though privacy violations are not actively sought out?
"It's a complaint-driven process," he says. "But the same is true of most other laws. We have driving laws, but there aren't police watching every street corner."
" I believe most Canadians, including businesses, are law abiding and want to respect the law."
Radwanski can use his power of disclosure if a business refuses to comply with his ruling.
"There aren't a whole lot of organizations, particularly in the private sector that would want to find themselves publicly identified as violating the privacy rights of Canadians."
Or, he can ask the court to award damages to the complainant.
The bottom line is that private information should remain that way. "It's information about us and it's ours," said Radwanski.
Radwanski was in Yellowknife last weekend for the annual summit of Canada's information and privacy commissioners.
