Information & Ethics committee  That's a good question. We probably should look to Commonwealth countries because of the similarities in our judicial systems. But it's a new problem internationally. I think what we're seeing here is its emergence as a criminal problem because of the value of personal informatio

Information & Ethics committee  Thanks very much. You raise a good point. There are two things we would point out with this bill and with any legislation that you put in the Criminal Code. First, you need to prove criminal mens rea with every criminal offence, which is to say criminal intent. That's an essent

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, there are prosecutions, but only at the time of use. So, if someone, for example, makes a list of the personal information of all the members of the committee, we can do nothing. If he doesn't use that information, we can do nothing.

Information & Ethics committee  That's it.

Information & Ethics committee  When these are people from the organized crime community—my colleagues who have worked at the RCMP could talk about this at greater length—it's really an international problem, that is to say that the information is gathered in Canada, but it can be used elsewhere, for immigratio

Information & Ethics committee  Precisely.

Information & Ethics committee  Unless you have a direct witness or direct evidence that organized crime is involved, that the young people are working together, which is usually very hard to prove.

Information & Ethics committee  Good morning. It is up to the provinces to enforce the act, the Criminal Code. So if an offence is committed under the Criminal Code, it is up to the provinces to decide whether or not they will prosecute someone for identity theft, fraud, or petty theft. The remarks I made earl

Information & Ethics committee  I agree with the Commissioner, that is to say that the sections of the Criminal Code are reserved for the most extreme cases. First, it would be important to educate the public on the value of their personal information. Then there are regulations. Our office is already doing a l

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, they are old. The sections dealing with fraud and theft concern property, that is to say your money, your house, your car. Personal information as such doesn't have a recognized value.

Information & Ethics committee  Good morning, Mr. Pearson. Thank you for the question. It's a good one. I think the commissioner said at the beginning as well that identity theft isn't well defined. It can range from someone taking your credit card number to wholesale misappropriation of your identity and im