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B.C. privacy amendments no match for U.S. Patriot Act
FBI can obtain any information it wants once private data is
outsourced
 Victoria
- The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) says
the Gordon Campbell government is wrong in claiming that amendments to
privacy laws will protect British Columbians if their medical and
financial records and other personal information are handed over to
U.S.-linked companies.
"The Campbell Liberals can try to build a fortress around our personal
data but once it outsources information technology (IT) services to
American-linked companies, the FBI can use the U.S. Patriot Act to
knock down any legal, constitutional or electronic walls to get
British Columbians’ personal information," says Diane Wood, BCGEU
secretary-treasurer.
Wood says the amendments, tabled last week, are no match for the
over-reaching provisions in the Patriot Act, which allows U.S. federal
authorities to demand that companies hand over data.
“It’s one thing for the Campbell Liberals to write into our privacy
laws that the data of British Columbians must be kept in Canada but
how do they enforce it, legally or technologically?” Wood asks.
“Once that information is released, it’s impossible to predict how far
within American agencies it will be distributed, or how it will be
used.”
Wood says there’s every indication that homeland security is the
highest American priority. The rights of its own citizens are a
distant second, and it has no concern at all about the sensitivities
of other nations, she adds.
"The Campbell Liberals think building firewalls and negotiating
so-called risk mitigation measures into contracts with U.S. companies
will safeguard our medical files, prescription drug records, bank
account numbers, and other highly confidential information, but
there’s no iron-clad guarantee," Woods argues.
“Frankly, that’s not a chance we should take. There’s far too much at
risk to find out after the fact. There’s only one foolproof way to
keep our personal and confidential information out of the hands of the
FBI: leave it in government where it belongs." NUPGE
Web posted by NUPGE:
12 October 2004
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