Privacy Matters: The Federal Strategy to Address Concerns About the USA PATRIOT Act and Transborder Data Flows

4. Action Plan of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is also pursuing a vigorous agenda to address concerns over transborder data flows.

The Commissioner, in her August 18, 2004, submission to the Office of the information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C. (entitled Transferring Personal Information about Canadians Across Borders—Implications of the USA PATRIOT Act) indicated her interest in the following:

conducting an audit of the transfer of personal information through information-sharing agreements between Canadian and U.S. departments and agencies;
holding discussions between representatives of the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on personal information management practices of federal entities on both sides of the border;
supporting a review and revision of the Privacy Act;
pursuing the creation of a national security committee of parliamentarians; and
participating in the 2006 legislative review of the PIPEDA, which contains privacy safeguards for the private sector.

For more information on how to protect your privacy and other planned privacy initiatives of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, visit the Commissioner’s Web site: http://www.privcom.gc.ca.