OTTAWA - The privacy of Canadians shouldn't be sacrificed on the altar of fighting terrorism, says a new report based on the views of experts.
It says privacy and security must not be considered at odds with one another, and suggests weak privacy laws may actually make Canada more vulnerable to extremism.
"Other jurisdictions are outpacing the federal government on privacy and they may be reluctant to share information with Canada," says the report prepared by the Public Policy Forum.
About 40 bureaucrats, academics and legal experts took part in an invitation-only June workshop on modernizing the federal privacy law, enacted 25 years ago.
The report on the event was obtained under the Access to Information Act from the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which provided financial support for the gathering.
The commissioner oversees the federal Privacy Act, which sets out the privacy rights of Canadians in their dealings with the federal government. It limits what sort of information can be collected about people and gives them the right to see and correct any data on file.
The report notes that since the Privacy Act came into effect, the digital information revolution, the Internet, global positioning systems and wireless technology have transformed how personal information is recorded, stored and shared.
Data zips around the world with greater intensity and "pressure for stronger security measures" has led to what's been described as the dawn of a surveillance society.
"While the landscape has shifted, Canada's federal privacy framework has stood still."
On the tensions between security and privacy, some workshop participants suggested privacy and national security are "mutually reinforcing."
They cited a need to better communicate why, in the words of one, "if you reduce people's privacy you reduce their security."
A federal inquiry recently pointed the finger at the RCMP, CSIS and Foreign Affairs for indirectly contributing to the overseas torture of three Arab-Canadians through information-sharing with allied security officials.
A number of workshop attendees said cross-border information sharing rules should be written into law.
"Some felt that this was a question of sovereignty and that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that Canadians' personal information only be shared under specific circumstances," the report says.
"Others took the view that it would be pointless to try and completely stem the flow of personal information across borders. Instead, they suggested that we should be thinking about ways to protect Canadians' personal information - keeping in mind the reality that it will be moving."
Ottawa lawyer Kris Klein, who attended the workshop, pointed to the increasing use of video surveillance cameras in public spaces as a prime example of how privacy has been eroded in the name of security.
"We're just allowing these cameras to go up without any sort of public debate as to what truly is of significance to our society when that happens."
Klein applauded the idea behind the workshop, but left the meeting skeptical there would be changes to the privacy regime.
"The lack of political interest is what struck me," he said. "Most of the people in the room I knew already. I was hoping to sort of see some politicians there, which I think would've helped matters. We've got to try to find a champion somewhere."
Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has long called for changes to bring the law up to date but successive governments have not taken up the file.
The report suggests little will happen until elected officials show interest.
"The lack of political will to review the Act, particularly in the face of competing priorities such as national security, has been the main obstacle to reforming the regime."
