Where we have long-standing relationships whereby the information is regularly shared, normally that is supported by an agreement that outlines the information protections required. However, it would be operationally impossible, I think, to negotiate an agreement with everybody we share with. If you look at the North American context, you have 360 law enforcement agencies in Canada and 17,000 in the United States. Where the offence takes place may have international implications. For us to share maybe a small portion of information with a state police in the United States, we would have to go through an onerous negotiation process for the sharing of information that is relevant to law enforcement. In some instances, this information has to be shared in a timely manner in order to prevent a more serious crime from taking place.
It would be very challenging to negotiate an agreement with everybody we share with. That's why we have strict policies that dictate how we share and with whom we share. There's a need to know and there's a right to know. Plus, we assess the relevancy of any request, the reliability of the information we are sharing, and the accuracy of that information before we share it. Then it's shared with the caveat that for any further dissemination, you would have to come back to the originator in order to share onward.