Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Madam Stoddart, thank you for your excellent reports. In our business we read many reports. Often it seems reports are just data, but sometimes we come across a report like yours, which has a clear vision of the issues of privacy, the state's role, and the rights of the individual. I think it's a very powerful statement.
You state that security and privacy are not opposing values. You also state:
...the state also has an obligation to treat individuals with respect—to preserve their dignity and to safeguard their personal information.
This is not a mere frill or a “nice-to-have”; it is fundamental to the trust relationship that must exist between citizens and their government.
I think that's a very clear and powerful manifesto with which Canadians would agree. The question is how to ensure that this trust relationship is not eroded.
I'm particularly concerned, for example, with Bill C-30 and the lack of protocols that will exist in terms of being able to collect and hold personal data. People have raised concerns about Bill C-30. I know that you've raised concerns. The minister, Vic Toews, said that people who raise concerns are on the same side as the child pornographers, which I find to be a very offensive statement about the issue of privacy.
What are your concerns about the lack of protocols in Bill C-30 to protect the privacy rights of citizens?