Thank you, Mr. Plamondon.
I would like to come back to the debate that was well underway on the matter of consumer consent. I do not know whether this was described as abusive, but that is the adjective that comes to mind. We were talking about the consent that Hilton Hotels asks for and all the consent we are asked for. We sign consent forms with the idea that the consent seekers cannot do much with it anyway. But often, the information ends up on the Web.
Furthermore, consumers are not very familiar with the Privacy Act. They are not very aware of their rights either. This is perhaps one reason why there are not very many complaints.
The fact that publishing the identity of the respondents is left to the discretion of the commissioner does not help us either in better understanding the law. Often, we learn about our rights by reading the newspapers and hearing about individual cases that do not comply with the law. I am also re-reading the US Patriot Act, which suggests that consumers be advised when their personal information goes abroad. I do not see how consumer protection fits in this system. How can a consumer refuse to give his consent?
I am not sure whether you each want a turn to comment, if that is alright with Mr. Chair, of course.