British Columbia Civil Liberties Association | 13 November 2002 | For Immediate Release Rights groups rally to support Privacy Commissioner in opposition to ’Big Brother’ database on travelers VANCOUVER – Public interest groups across Canada have united to support the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's fight against government programs that are eroding privacy rights while hiding behind the need for improved security. Heading the list of programs opposed is the massive new surveillance database created by the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) to monitor Canadians and other travelers entering Canada. In a letter sent today to National Revenue Minister Elinor Caplan, seven groups led by the BC Civil Liberties Association and the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA), strongly attacked the CCRA database. "Most disturbing are the statements by the Privacy Commissioner that he received assurances from your officials assuaging his concerns about this legislation," the groups wrote. "In his letter to you, he states that on the basis of those assurances he did not seek to appear before either the House or Senate committees studying this bill. This conduct is contemptuous of the Privacy Commissioner and of his role as ombudsman of the privacy interests of Canadians." Although the government originally stated that the database would monitor air travelers only, information obtained under the Access to Information Act has revealed that the government intends to extend it to travelers arriving by ship, train and bus as well. "In fact, the entire approach of the government regarding this database has lacked transparency—in Parliament, with the Privacy Commissioner and with the Canadian people," stated Darrell Evans, executive director of FIPA. "Evidently the government is afraid to reveal that they are eliminating civil liberties that took people in the western democracies hundreds of years to win." "We demand a full explanation to Canadians of exactly what information the government wants to collect, how long they will keep it, and who it will be shared with," said Evans. "We also demand that the Privacy Commissioner be given the mandate to conduct an annual audit on the database and issue a public report." Canadian federal and provincial privacy laws prohibit public bodies from collecting personal information simply because it may become useful at some future time. The traveler database is an indiscriminate, multi-purpose population surveillance program that makes a mockery of these laws and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which grants individuals the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. "In a world where information is power and privacy is under attack, the government has just gone over the line," said Vincent Gogolek, policy director of BC Civil Liberties. "This is an unjustified information grab as never seen before. Although Canadians are willing to make sacrifices to fight terrorism, this program takes unfair advantage of Canadians’ goodwill." - 30 - November 13, 2002 The Honourable Ms. Elinor Caplan Minister of National Revenue Canada Customs and Revenue Agency 7th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5 Dear Ms. Caplan: RE: Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record Database We are writing to you jointly to express our dismay at the ever-increasing and unjustified surveillance of travelers being carried out by your department and to urge you to dismantle the API-PNR database. We share the concerns of George Radwanski, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, about the operation and expansion of this database and the process by which it came into being. We will not repeat the extensive and compelling arguments made by Mr. Radwanski, or the other interventions from various provincial Privacy Commissioners. However, we do support these arguments, and we are concerned that the API-PNR database violates both the federal Privacy Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As the Minister responsible, you should be concerned as well. We have a particular objection to the process by which this database has been created. The legislative authority you are relying upon to establish and maintain this database was contained in Bill S-23, an obscure piece of legislation from the last session that amended the Customs Act. It is so obscure that even the Library of Parliament did not prepare a legislative summary of this bill. It rocketed through the Commons in a month, receiving little scrutiny or attention. Most disturbing are the statements by the Privacy Commissioner that he received assurances from your officials assuaging his concerns about this legislation, after which the government acted in a contrary fashion. In his letter to you dated September 26, the Commissioner stated that on the basis of those assurances he did not seek to appear before either the House or Senate committees studying this bill. The government's conduct has been contemptuous of the Privacy Commissioner and of his role as ombudsman of the privacy interests of Canadians. There is a large body of precedent in which federal agencies have consistently followed the recommendations of the current Commissioner and his predecessors. But if a federal agency chooses not to follow the Commissioner's recommendations, then the least Canadians can expect from the agency is that it provides cogent and persuasive argument why it does not intend to. We have yet to see this from your department. We are struck by the contrast between the treatment of personal information under the API-PNR database versus Bill C-17, the Public Safety Act, which your government has just reintroduced. Bill C-17 deals with the same sort of airline information which is to be collected by CCRA. We wish to emphasize that we do not endorse Bill C-17, but it is curious that it provides better privacy protection than the CCRA database. First, the information collected must be destroyed within seven days, unless it is "reasonably required for the purposes of transportation security or the investigation of threats to the security of Canada." This is much shorter than the six years your ministry will retain it. Second, Bill C-17 requires that CSIS and the RCMP review the retained information at least once a year and order the information to be destroyed if there is no justification for its retention. Your ministry does not appear to be undertaking any such review and removal of personal information. The API-PNR database was originally intended to contain information concerning airline travelers. Through the media, it has now come to our attention that the database has been expanded to include travelers arriving on ferries, cruise ships, busses and trains. This will greatly increase the personal information the government may sift through, making the database both more intrusive and probably less effective in preventing terrorist activities. In the aftermath of September 11, Canadians have been told to expect that life will change. We will now be subject to tighter controls and greater scrutiny when we cross the border or when we travel. Canadians are willing to do so in good faith but only if changes are made transparently with clear justification and if there is an appropriate balance between privacy and national security. In closing, we urge you to exercise your authority and uphold your responsibility for the CCRA by ordering the suspension of this excessive intrusion into travelers' privacy rights, at least until it is properly scrutinized and approved by Parliament. We look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, Murray Mollard Executive Director British Columbia Civil Liberties Association Darrell Evans Executive Director BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association Phillippa Lawson Senior Counsel Public Interest Advocacy Centre (Ottawa) Valerie Price Executive Director, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties Thomas B. Riley Executive Director and Chair Commonwealth Centre for e-Governance Professor Richard Rosenberg Electronic Frontier Canada Valerie Steeves National Privacy Coalition cc: George Radwanski, Privacy Commissioner of Canada