Information & Ethics committee  That's a hugely broad question, and the issue of privacy goes well beyond my mandate. I only have a mandate for personal information handled either by the government or by organizations. In PIPEDA, for example, we enforce the Canadian Standards Association's code, which is an a

Information & Ethics committee  I think, honourable member, we have to revisit this question, and that's why I spoke to the Deputy Minister of Industry. I think that the draft legislation was drawn up maybe two or three years ago with what we knew then. I think we have to go back now and look at some of the law

Information & Ethics committee  I think the maximum that the European Union.... I remind you that PIPEDA was adopted so that we would meet European Union standards, and 80 countries in the world have now adopted the European model. From memory, there are maybe 15 countries outside the European Union that expl

Information & Ethics committee  In speaking of accountability, which is one of the features of the Canadian law that has become very popular internationally because it well encapsulates the obligations of companies to privacy law, I think ideally—and this is why I would urge the committee and the honourable mem

Information & Ethics committee  As to the first question, honourable member, I didn't hear that. I don't quite understand what that gentleman meant. Perhaps we could go back and look at the transcript, and I could give you an answer on that.

Information & Ethics committee  Well, from observation over the years, I think it is the only thing that makes them sit up and take notice. Their names are already public. We're dealing with a far different breed of companies from what existed when PIPEDA was adopted. Lawyers have said to me many times over th

Information & Ethics committee  I think it's been done already by the Federal Court. I think there's a legal test, a real and substantial connection to Canada. I think many of the companies meet it. It's fairly clear, and that test would have to be met. We would be levying a sanction for their behaviour involv

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. I would think it would be interesting if you looked at the range of fines the European Union is currently contemplating. There's a range of fines; first tier, second tier, third tier. It goes up to a maximum of 2% of worldwide revenue. There's debate about that and so on, bu

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, well—

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly—

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not sure—

Information & Ethics committee  There is an appeal process, yes. In the case of Quebec, there's a direct appeal. I believe in the case of Alberta and B.C. there's judicial review, which to me is usually a higher standard.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. I would think there are any number of players across Canada, both federally and provincially, in digital literacy issues, depending on whether you're addressing it to school children, parents, young adults, or seniors, who kind of skipped that altogether. We're involved

Information & Ethics committee  Certainly American companies, which are the major players on the Internet, have the FTC's opinion in their sights. Could I ask assistant commissioner Chantal Bernier, who directs our day-to-day investigations, to give you a recent example of the truth, I think, of the statement