Rajotte Bill protecting Personal Information Passes Second Reading

November 09, 2006

OTTAWA – James Rajotte, M.P. for Edmonton-Leduc and Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, has successfully guided his bill through second reading and it has now been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice. This legislation is designed to provide greater protection for the personal information of Canadians.

Mr. Rajotte’s private member’s bill was debated for an hour on June 13th and again on October 25th. It was then approved by the House of Commons on November 1st with 230 for, 46 against, and 4 abstaining.

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, selling, or disclosing personal information through false pretences or fraud a crime under the Criminal Code. Amendments to the Competition Act would allow legal recourse for individuals whose personal information has been misused through fraud. Moreover, individuals could seek compensation from the Canadian affiliates of foreign companies that fraudulently obtained their personal information.

“The purpose of this bill is to close some of the loopholes that allow con artists 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.”


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