Madam Speaker, we have before us a motion that would lead to the establishment of a legislative committee of the House to prepare and bring in a bill to remedy what the hon. member refers to as the weaknesses of the Privacy Act. The bill would include relief or compensation for persons who suffer as a result of the improper disclosure of their private information and it would impose penalties for those who wilfully violate the provisions of the Privacy Act. Let me say at the outset that the Minister of Justice does not support this motion.
There are two laws that affect the protection of personal information held by the federal government. First, section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. This section has been interpreted to deal with privacy.
Second, the Privacy Act protects personal information collected by the federal government. The Privacy Act was brought into force in 1983 with the agreement of all parties in the House. The act provides individuals with access to their personal information held by the federal government. It further gives individuals some controls over the government's collection and use of this personal information. It also protects the individual's privacy by limiting those who may see this personal information and for what purpose it might be used.
The Privacy Act sets out the principles of fair information practices thereby requiring the government to collect only the information needed to operate its programs, to collect the information directly from the individual concerned whenever possible, to tell the individual how long it will be used, to keep the information long enough to ensure access by the individual, and to take all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and completeness of personal information.
It should be noted that no federal legislation is in place to protect personal information held by the private sector. In response to concerns raised by Canadians, the government recognized the pressing need for statutory reform regarding the practices of private sector organizations in relation to personal information.
In October 1998 the Minister of Industry introduced Bill C-54, the personal information protection and electronic documents act, to address these concerns. Bill C-54 was introduced in this session as Bill C-6 and was adopted by the House in October last year. When part I of Bill C-6 comes into force it will apply to organizations in the private sector and will establish their obligations for the protection of personal information. The government is very proud of Bill C-6 and of the value Bill C-6 will add to the privacy laws in Canada.
As the government continues to scrutinize closely the developments in the area of the privacy law, part of the government's ongoing work is to monitor the practices and trends, both in the public sector and in the private sector, involving the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and to consider ways that laws relating to privacy can be improved.
In his motion the hon. member for Skeena raises a number of interesting points that should be taken into account in the government's ongoing review of the Privacy Act.
We do, however, have some reservations when it comes to reviewing and amending the present privacy legislation. We feel it would be premature to strike a legislative committee to look at a reform of the Privacy Act.
This said, the government continues to carefully monitor the current laws relating to the use of personal information. Now that a framework for the protection of personal information is nearing completion with Bill C-6, improvements to federal laws can be considered on a more measured scale. The government will ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are heard, assessed and weighed.
Canadians have demonstrated to us that they value the protection of their personal information and that they appreciate the responsiveness of the government to their concerns. Government will continue to respond to the concerns and needs of all Canadians.