James Rajotte, M.P. for Edmonton Leduc, introduces Bill protecting Personal Information

June 21, 2006

OTTAWA – James Rajotte, M.P. for Edmonton-Leduc and Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, has introduced legislation to provide greater protection for Canadians’ personal information.

Mr. Rajotte’s private member’s bill was debated for an hour on June 13th and is designed to protect individuals against the collection of personal information through fraud and impersonation.

The bill, Bill C-299, an Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act and the Competition Act (personal information obtained by fraud,) proposes to make obtaining, counselling to obtain, or selling or disclosing personal information through false pretences or fraud a crime under the Criminal Code. Amendments to the Competition Act would provide compensation for individuals whose personal information had been misused through fraud. Moreover, individuals could seek compensation from the Canadian affiliates of foreign companies that fraudulently obtained their personal information.

The practice, often referred to as “pretexting,” involves third parties, or “data brokers”, making false representations for the purposes of obtaining confidential personal information, such as telephone bills and credit card statements. Not only does it feed the burgeoning market in “data brokering,” or buying and selling personal information for commercial or other purposes, it can also contribute to identity theft.

The issue hit the headlines in November 2005 when Macleans Magazine was able to purchase the cell phone records of Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. The purchase was made online within four hours through an American company over which the Privacy Commissioner has no jurisdiction.

Though fraud and personation are crimes under the Criminal Code, they do not apply to personal information such as phone records, consumer preferences, or purchases. While seemingly innocuous on their own, the aggregation of this kind of information can provide complete profiles of individuals. This leaves individuals open to identity theft and other abuses by those with access to their personal data.

“The purpose of this bill is to close some of the loopholes that allow data brokers to exploit people’s personal information,” said Mr. Rajotte. “This is a growing area, facilitated by information technology, and we need to open the debate on how to enforce meaningful protections.”

The bill will be debated for one more hour in the fall (likely in October,) and then will be voted on by all Members of Parliament on whether it should pass second reading and proceed to committee.


For further information, contact James Rajotte (613) 992-3594 or (780) 495-4351