Information & Ethics committee  I only got a chance to look at her comments that were in relation to this committee meeting on April 29, on Friday, so I haven't had a chance to talk to staff and to counsel and other people in the organization as to what these recommendations would mean to us and whether we woul

Information & Ethics committee  No. I think her recommendation may be informed by the audit that she performed on the CBSA, but I really haven't had a chance to study her documents and appreciate what she has to say.

Information & Ethics committee  I think we have learned how to live with the Privacy Act as it's framed right now. Within our own program legislation there are often suggestions that we could change it, either to tighten or to relax certain terms and conditions to clarify our ability to share information, but I

Information & Ethics committee  Do you mean what I brought with me today, or that the agency has?

Information & Ethics committee  I deal primarily with disclosure policy, so the larger issues. And dealing with the day-to-day transaction kinds of issues, managing the 300,000 travellers who cross the border or arrive every day, is for folks in the regional offices and in operations. In the context of our en

Information & Ethics committee  We don't administer that list.

Information & Ethics committee  I welcome the opportunity. I think we need to digest them. In our world there are basically four main acts that deal with exchange of information. The CBSA Act, in the mandate, speaks about implementing agreements with foreign governments. We have the provisions in the Customs Ac

Information & Ethics committee  I believe the existing air security list, or whatever they call it, belongs to Transport Canada. We really don't—

Information & Ethics committee  Our policy direction is quite clear. We expect those exchanges to be documented, so we can figure out if the person did the right thing at the right time and can be accountable for that exchange.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, we're aware of the problem. We're rebuilding those policies, and we're going to go out with a robust training program for our folks.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. We have 277 written agreements now with foreign governments, provinces, and other government departments. If you look at some of our specific authorities to disclose information, they require a written collaborative arrangement or an agreement to be in place.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, it is contrary to our own policy.

Information & Ethics committee  Those comments are in the context of the verbal exchanges. At the same time, she did not find any wrongful or wilful problems with that information sharing. We recognize that's an issue for us, and we are reworking the policies. In the past year, for instance, we have provided

Information & Ethics committee  The requirement is embodied in legislation. Subsection 107(8), for instance, deals with our ability to share customs information with a foreign government. The terms and conditions include a requirement to have an agreement or an arrangement in place.

Information & Ethics committee  And there are similar requirements in subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act, which is an authority to disclose information. So it becomes a term and condition of sharing that information abroad.