The Canadian Bill C-6 passed its third reading, and is headed to the
Senate. It looks like Canada may have federal privacy and digital
signature law by the end of the year. This bill has been pushed by
Industry Canada who have been involved largely in the federal government's
Electronic Commerce interest. The other major Canadian initiative is the
Government of Canada own PKI, which should cross-certify into the private
sector as a root CA, but is intended primarily to become more efficient in
their own inter-departmental communications and business-to-government
(contracts) communications and government-to-individual communications.
-M Taylor
------------
From Industry Canada's New Release
Privacy Legislation Reintroduced in House of Commons
This initiative is a key element of the Canadian Electronic Commerce
Strategy, launched in September 1998, which identified the need to build
trust in the digital economy as a key priority for action. "Canadians want
assurances that their personal information will not be misused when
they engage in electronic commerce, and businesses want clear and
consistent rules across the country," said Minister Manley. "This
legislation is a first step at harmonizing privacy protection in Canada."
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
introduces measures to protect personal information collected, used and
disclosed in the course of commercial activities. The legislation outlines
the concept of secure digital signatures that can be used in electronic
transactions with the Government of Canada, and clarifies how the courts
assess the reliability of electronic records used as evidence. It also
gives official status to the electronic version of the consolidated
Statutes and Regulations of Canada.
The privacy provisions of the Bill will first apply to the
federally-regulated private sector. Three years after coming into force,
they will apply more broadly to all personal information collected, used
or disclosed in the course of commercial activities. Where a province or
a territory adopts substantially similar legislation, the organizations
covered by the provincial or territorial legislation will be exempted from
the application of the federal law within that jurisdiction.
Quebec already has substantially similar privacy legislation covering the
private sector, so organizations collecting, using or disclosing personal
information within the province will be exempted from the application of
the federal Bill. The federal legislation complements Quebec's private
sector privacy law by covering federally-regulated organizations such as
banks and airlines, as well as interprovincial and international data
flows. Quebeckers will have the best privacy protection in Canada. "We
encourage other provinces and territories to follow suit by legislating
broadly in their jurisdiction, including in particular medical and
employee data, which is of great concern to all Canadians," said Minister
Manley.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 23:11:18 -0400
From: Michael Geist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: U of O Canadian internet law issues Listserv
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Multiple recipients of list CILRP-TALK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Bill C-6 passes
As expected, Bill C-6 passed third reading tonight and is headed for
the Senate. Final vote was 200 in favour (Liberals, Reform, and NDP
supported) and 49 against (Bloc and PC).
Official journal for the day can be found online at
http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/2/parlbus/chambus/house/journals/011_1999-10-
26/011votes-e.html.
MG
**********************************************************************
Professor Michael A. Geist
University of Ottawa Law School, Common Law Section
57 Louis Pasteur St., P.O. Box 450, Stn. A, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5
Tel: 613-562-5800, x3319 Fax: 613-562-5124
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (or try [EMAIL PROTECTED])
URL: http://www.lawbytes.com
Looking for Internet and technology law resources? Check out the
Canadian Internet Law Resource Page (CILRP) at:
http://www.cilrp.org/, my monthly Globe & Mail Cyberlaw column at
http://www.globetechnology.com, my LEXIS-NEXIS Web Lecture Series at
http://www.lexis.com/lawschool/weblec, and coming soon, Internet Law
in Canada at http://www.captus.com/information/law.htm#InternetLaw.
To receive regular email notifications on new Web lectures and
WebBuzz topics send an email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the
subject line "Web Lecture Update".
