Our sense—again, this is based on extensive consultations—is that, as the bill is drafted, and taking into account that you can't look at any exception to consent in a vacuum, all of those disclosures are subject to many statutory provisions in the act, if you are relying on an exception to consent to disclosure. However, with respect to this provision, we believe it would strike the necessary balance if you enhance the privacy protections with our suggested amendments, together with—as mentioned by other witnesses in today's hearing—a prescribed requirement for additional protections over time being introduced by the government, if it feels it's necessary to do so.
“Data for good” is something that could be extraordinarily helpful. There's a wealth of unknown benefits to all Canadians. When we saw this provision initially, there was broad-based support. However, we fully recognize some of the concerns, and we address them with our suggested revisions. We think that with our suggested revisions, it's a good balance.