Thank you, Minister.
I have such a short time. I just need clarification because, if I understand the law correctly, section 7.2(1) says:
In addition to the circumstances set out in subsection 7(2) and (3) for the purpose of clause 4.3 of Schedule 1...organizations that are parties to a prospective business transaction may use and disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual if
And then it has a long list that I won't read. For example:
(a) the organizations have entered into an agreement that requires the organization that receives the personal information (i) to use and disclose that information solely for purposes related to the transaction, (ii) to protect that information by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, and (iii) if the transaction does not proceed, to return that information to the organization that disclosed it, or destroy it, within a reasonable time; and (b) the personal information is necessary (i) to determine whether to proceed with the transaction, and (ii) if the determination is made to proceed with the transaction, to complete it.
There are other sections that I could read. I guess my question is, where there are these warrantless disclosures of personal information—that's basically personal information-sharing between companies—is the minister open to any amendments to either remove some of the sections that have really been troubling, or perhaps to put in some checks and balances in order to ensure that these clauses are not abused? I think there are some very good things in this bill, but there are some legitimate concerns that they may be overly vague or broad.