Information & Ethics Committee on Nov. 20th, 2006

[The Chair, Liberal, Tom Wappel]

Do I understand correctly that for work product like physicians' prescribing patterns, the Privacy Commissioner has ruled that not to be personal information? Is that what you just said?

[Richard Simpson]

Yes, the Privacy Commissioner reinforced that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Tom Wappel]

Does the department agree with that?

[Michael Binder]

We have no difficulty with that. It's the law.

[The Chair, Liberal, Tom Wappel]

There's a difference between having no difficulty with it and agreeing with it.

[Michael Binder]

Again, I'm going to sound like I'm trying to duck the question, but what I'm trying to say is that we are looking for advice on some of these issues. They are difficult issues. There is not necessarily a consensus on how they should be treated, and as you'll find out, there will be a difference of opinion about them. Therefore, at the end of the day, we will look for your advice and take this under your advisement.

[Richard Simpson]

Mr. Chair, just to add thirty seconds to the point, it is part of how PIPEDA works. The definition of personal information was left broad by Parliament, giving the Privacy Commissioner the opportunity to make some of these definitional interpretations in the context of his or her work. That's how it has unfolded. So it is important to know that the act is built around flexibility in terms of how the Privacy Commissioner defines personal information.

[The Chair, Liberal, Tom Wappel]

Thank you.

Are there any questions from the Bloc? Madam Lavallée?

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Yes, of course. First of all, I'd like some information because there are several things I don't understand. I must admit that I'm new to the committee.

What exactly do you mean by personal information for artistic purposes?

[Alexia Taschereau, Senior Counsel, Industry Canada, Department of Justice]

In some cases, that could refer to lists of names and addresses for Christmas cards or invitations.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Invitations to exhibits, for example?

[Alexia Taschereau]

Exactly.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

What exactly do you mean by ”work product”?

[Alexia Taschereau]

I can give you an example as provided by the courts, namely prescriptions written by physicians.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

So then, a work product could be a prescription or a report, for example.

[Alexia Taschereau]

Yes.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Aside from prescriptions, what else might fall into this category?

[Alexia Taschereau]

A report written by a person or employee as part of his work is considered a product.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I see.

I'm surprised that you've examined the whole question of prescriptions, since the health care field normally comes under provincial jurisdiction, or under Quebec jurisdiction. I don't understand why you've looked into this. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[Alexia Taschereau]

We mentioned prescriptions because they were identified by the courts as a work product. That example comes to mind. It's one area in which jurisdiction is shared. The act covers personal information regarding the health sector.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Yes, but nevertheless, the health sector comes under Quebec and provincial jurisdiction. You state somewhere that areas under provincial jurisdiction are excluded. Therefore, I don't understand you concern about prescriptions.

[Michael Binder]

When data is forwarded to another hospital, for example, a hospital in Ontario—

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

In another province.

[Michael Binder]

That's right.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Now that you've enlightened me, I have a question about the international implications of this legislation. You mentioned an organization called Privacy International which, if I understood you correctly, did a study of all international personal information protection legislation. You mentioned that this organization had reviewed legislation in 30 countries.

Have you contacted other countries with legislation similar to ours? Have you drawn comparisons? Can you tell us which important areas are covered by our legislation and which are not? What about other countries? You mentioned Canada and Germany, but I didn't quite understand if we were in the top percentile, as we say in Quebec when referring to education. Does our legislation compare well to that of other countries? What improvements would be warranted?