Where Do We Draw the Line?
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HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA PRIVACY: WHERE ,DO WE DRAW THE LINE? Report of the House, of Commons Standing Committee on Human R’igtits and the Status of Persons with Disabilities The Hon Sheila Finestone, Chair April 1997 PRIVACY WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE? Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Persons with Disabilities The Hon Sheila Finestone, Chair April 1997 The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part, for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs in whole or in Part, must be obtained from their authors. Transcripts of public Committee meetings may be obtained through the Internet at: http://www.parl.gc.ca. Available from Public Works and Government Services Canada - Publishing, Ottawa, Canada KlA OS9 HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES Issue NO. 5 (Meeting No. 44) Fascicule no 5 (SbanCe no 44) Tuesday, April 22,1997 Le mardi 22 avril 1997 Chair: The Hon. Sheila Finestone Prksidente: L’hon. Sheila Finestone Minutes of Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Pro&-verbaux du Comitc? permanent des Human Rights Droits de la personne and the Status of et de la condition des Persons with personnes Disabilities handicapbes RESPECTING: CONCERNANT: Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), A Study of Privacy Conformement a I’article 108(3) du Reglement, kude Rights and New Technologies du droit a la vie privee et nouvelles technologies INCLUDING: Y COMPRIS: The Third Report to the House Le troisieme rapport a la Chambre Second Session of the Thirty-fifth Parliament, 1996-97 STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHT AND THE STATUS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CHAIR Sheila Finestone VICE-CHAIRS: Andy Scott Maurice Bernier Sarkis Assadourian Sharon Hayes Jean Augustine Russell MacLellan John Godfrey Real Menard Deborah Grey Georgette Sheridan ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Chris Axworthy Philippe Pare Mauri1 Belanger Svend J. Robinson Robert Bertrand Roseanne Skoke Maud Debien Myron Thompson Audrey McLaughlin (Quorum 6) Clerk of the Committee Wayne Cole ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Committee wishes to express its gratitude to all those who appeared before it in the course of its study of privacy rights and new technologies. In particular, we would like to extend thanks to all those who participated in the townhall meetings held across the country for their great contribution to our understanding of the impact that new technologies are having on Canadians from coast to coast. The Committee thanks especially all those who acted as facilitators during the townhall meetings, for their logistical assistance, their expertise and for sharing their considerable knowledge with us. The efforts of the Committee staff, especially in the organization of our cross-country hearings were instrumental to the carrying out of this study. We would like to thank especially the Clerk of the Committee, Wayne Cole, who was ably assisted by Roger Prefontaine. Invaluable assistance was provided by the administrative support staff of the Committees Directorate, notably Fiona Bladon, Elizabeth Fex, France Lewis, Kim Nolet, Karen Titley and Linda Tremblay. The Committee thanks its research staff from the Library of Parliament, Susan Alter, Nancy Holmes and Bill Young for their dedication and professionalism in assisting the Committee. The Committee especially appreciates their assistance in ensuring that the often complex technologies we examined were never permitted to obscure the fundamental rights issues. The draft report they presented for our consideration aided us greatly in arriving at our final statement in this report. Valerie Steeves, who worked for us on contract as coordinator of the hearings deserves special thanks. Her work both in identifying and inviting witnesses and in assisting in the running of the townhalls was instrumental to their success. We thank her as well for her assistance in the drafting of this report. The Committee is grateful to Jean-Yves Durocher for his work as media relations officer and for his assistance with the Montreal townhall. The Committee thanks the many people on the House of Commons staff who provided services and support, particularly those who made possible the teleconferencing sessions and the broadcasting of our hearings. We would also like to express our appreciation to CPAC for their generosity in agreeing to televise our cross-country hearings and for the professionalism of the staff who were assigned to that task. Finally, the Chair wishes to thank her colleagues on the Committee for their dedication and commitment in dealing with these important issues. III CHAIR’S FORWARD “We can only be sure of being free from surveillance today if we retire to our basements, cloak our windows, turn out the lights and remain absolutely quiet” - Gerald La Forest, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Privacy is one of the most comprehensive of all human rights - broad, ambitious and valued around the world. Traditionally understood as the “right to be left alone,” in this technological age, privacy has taken on new dimensions. To experts, privacy is the right to enjoy private space, to conduct private communications, to be free from surveillance and to respect the sanctity of one’s body. To the average Canadian, privacy is a question of power-the ability to control one’s personal information and to remain anonymous by choice. Privacy, however, is not an inalienable right. Where do we draw the line? Where is the balance between social and economic needs such as crime and fraud prevention,‘health services and business practices on the one hand, and the protection of our private lives on the other? These questions have become all the more critical because once lost, our personal privacy can never be recaptured. As a human right, privacy belongs to everyone. The Members of this Committee have listened to as many voices across this country as possible. Canadians have never approved of peeping Toms or unauthorized wire-tapping, and our criminal laws reflect this. We know now that this same disapproval extends, for example, to hidden video cameras in the workplace, genetic testing for insurance purposes and to citizen identity cards. The dialogue that we began with the Canadian public forms the crux of this report. I am encouraged to hear that this dialogue continues. For example, Jean Augustine, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore has carried the process further in her constituency. I wish to thank all of the members of this Committee for their dedication and hard work. , I would also like to give special thanks on their behalf to our Clerk, Wayne Cole, our Researchers from the Library of Parliament, Bill Young, Nancy Holmes and Susan Alter, and our Hearings Coordinator, Valerie Steeves, to whom we are all indebted for their commitment and expertise. THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE STATUS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES has the honour to present its THIRD REPORT In accordance with Standing Order 108, the Committee has conducted a study of Privacy Rights and New Technologies and agreed to report as follows: vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................... iii CHAIR’S FOREWORD . , . , . , . v INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER I: PRIVACY MATTERS: RIGHTS, VALUES AND ATTITUDES ......... 5 PRIVACY AS A HUMAN RIGHT AND SOCIAL VALUE .......................... 5 PRIVACY: PARADISE LOST? ................................................ 7 A. Privacy, Power and Community ...................................... 8 B. Privacy as a Commodity ............................................ 10 MEANINGFULCONSENT.. ................................................. 11 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY USES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ............ 13 THEFUTUREISNOW ...................................................... 15 A. Genetic Testing .................................................... 15 B. Smart Cards and Biometric Encryption ................................ 17 C. Video Surveillance ................................................. 18 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER ................................................... 19 CROSSROADS ............................................................ 20 CHAPTER 2: THE PATCHWORK OF PRIVACY PROTECTION .................. 23 THE PERCEPTION .......................................................... ,23 THEREALITY .............................................................. 24 A. Constitutional Privacy Protection ..................................... 24 B. Privacy of Personal Information ...................................... 25 C. Safeguarding the Rest of Our Private Lives ............................ 80 FROM PATCHWORK TO OVERARCHING PROTECTION ....................... 30 CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF’THE MATTER: CORE PRIVACY PRINCIPLES . 33 ix ADOPTING THE LANGUAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ............................ 33 THE HEART OF PRIVACY PROTECTION ..................................... 34 OUR BLUEPRINT FOR THE CORE PRINCIPLES .............................. 34 1. Fundamental Privacy Rights and Guarantees ...................... 35 2. Justification for Exceptions ...................................... 36 3. General Obligations ............................................ 36 4. Specific