Thank you.
It may be useful to simply go back to the fact that the power to share DNA profiles internationally, through the national DNA data bank, is now in the legislation of the DNA Identification Act. It provides that the data bank can, on receiving a request from a foreign country, search the national DNA data bank for any profile that's submitted to it and then report on whether or not there is a match in the DNA data bank, and any other information, except the profile itself.
One of the amendments that we're hoping Bill C-18 will improve is the ability to actually share DNA profiles, where we're not certain that we have an exact match or not. All that would be shared would be a similar or close match, and that would mean that after discussion between the national DNA data bank and the foreign country officials...whether or not they agree that they do have a match. After that, the new amendments would then permit, as we do now, the sharing of the personal information, the identification information.
Yesterday, during your tour, you may have noted that the personal information is separated from the DNA information at receipt of the DNA kits into the national DNA data bank, which ensures that the people at the national DNA data bank do not know the personal information that relates to any profile they have. So this discussion would take place anonymously between the national DNA data bank people and the officials in a foreign country as to whether or not they have a match. Once they conclude they have a match, then the information would be sent to the criminal history people, who would not get the DNA profile but who could then say, yes, we have a match with this person in a foreign country, and then decide how much information they would share internationally with the foreign country about the identity of that person, without sending any further DNA information. The safeguard is that there would be no ability for a random assortment of DNA profiles and personal information to be kept abroad. There would be that separation taking place.
The protection is also statutorily imposed that we have to have an international agreement that meets paragraph 8(2)(f) of the Privacy Act. These international agreements are all done through an Interpol-covering agreement--where all our DNA information is sent through Interpol--that the receiving country would agree to abide by the conditions we impose. The conditions we impose are that this personal information they receive would only be used for the prosecution or investigation of a criminal offence in that country. This would be a requirement bound through their charter agreements through Interpol that they would only use it for that purpose. These would be the caveats and conditions imposed on all exchanges of DNA information now and in the future, unless we amend our legislation.