Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
NDP Requests Privacy Act Investigation into TV Citizenship Ceremony
On February 6, 2012, NDP immigration critic Don Davies wrote to federal privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart requesting an investigation into a possible breach of the Privacy Act by Citizenship and Immigration Canada during the planning of a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony televised on the Sun News network.
In the fall of 2011, the office of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney directed bureaucrats at Citizenship and Immigration Canada to organize a ceremony to be broadcast on the Sun News network during which new citizens would re-take the citizenship oath. Bureaucrats eventually asked their fellow government employees to pose as new Canadians for the ceremony. However, under the request of Kenney’s office, the department had originally contacted new citizens to participate in the ceremony.
The NDP and some privacy and immigration experts claim that there may have been a breach of the Privacy Act, as the department used information about new citizens in its possession for a purpose other than for which it was obtained. In an interview with the Canadian Press, lawyer Michel Drapeau claimed that the statute specifies that personal data under the control of the government should not be used except for the purpose for which it was obtained or compiled or for a use consistent with that purpose. Drapeau claimed that while there are exceptions under the statute, promotional and media activities do not qualify. However, privacy specialist Valerie Steeves argued that a person’s citizenship status is public information and as such, Citizenship and Immigration Canada may not have violated the Privacy Act by contacting new citizens for promotional purposes.
A spokesperson for Ms. Stoddart stated that the office of the privacy commissioner could not speculate as to whether there has been a violation of the statute without conducting a detailed examination. The spokesperson stated, however, that if one of the new citizens who had been contacted filed a complaint, the commissioner would investigate.
For additional information, visit:
http://shorl.com/jatradefrebifro
http://shorl.com/stanofydebusta
A copy of the Privacy Act is found at the following link:
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-21/index.html