Bring border privacy issues under NAFTA: Geist

Because some aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) raise privacy concerns, the Canadian government should bring border search and related privacy matters to the trade negotiating table, University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist told the committee studying device searches on the border. “While there’s no airport privacy chapter in the agreement, at least that I’m aware of, NAFTA touches on many of these related issues,” Geist told the House of Commons access to information, privacy and ethics committee — which is studying Canadians’ privacy at airports, borders and while travelling to the U.S. — last week. “There will be pressure — we know there is pressure — to speed up border crossings in the name of increased trade,” he added. The third round of NAFTA negotiations was held in Ottawa last week. The scene will now shift to Washington D.C. for a fourth round this month. The committee has already heard from witnesses about the privacy issues related to Canadian and United States border officials, especially in preclearance zones inside Canada, searching devices without a warrant. Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien previously argued such searches should be on the same footing as a search of a person. Bill C-23, which was introduced by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale last June and is now before the Senate, would expand border preclearance — areas where U.S.-bound Canadians can be cleared by U.S. officials while still in Canada — which already exist at several airports in Canada. In June, the same committee heard from Meghan McDermott, policy officer at the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), who said the bill doesn’t include a provision preventing border agents from arbitrary searches of electronic devices. On Wednesday, Geist raised privacy concerns linked to U.S. demands under NAFTA, including prohibiting some data localization and restrictions on data transfers as part of digital trade, which he flagged earlier this year. “NAFTA, of course, is not a privacy deal the reverberations from the agreement will be felt in the privacy world. The European Union has regularly linked privacy and data protection with trade. We ought to do the same, recognizing that these issues are linked and the policy recommendations that come out of this committee, on this issue, need to make their way to the negotiations.” Geist pointed to other countries that have requested their citizens be granted privacy protections, including those in the European Union under the Privacy Shield framework with the U.S. and Australia during the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. Geist also took time to back suggestions that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) should be vested with greater powers, which would empower the commissioner to examine border issues “in a more comprehensive manner and open the door to more careful reviews of cross-border sharing arrangements." In its annual report tabled in Parliament last month, the OPC reiterated its need for order-making and monetary enforcement powers to strengthen the privacy of Canadians and said it will be more proactive in its current mandate. Also appearing in front of the committee was Kris Klein, a privacy lawyer at nNovation LP. Klein agreed with granting greater powers to the office and said the current reactive, complaints-driven process the privacy commissioner works under is insufficient for border privacy issues because you require somebody to “actually file a complaint.” Geist backed that up, saying the complaints-driven process is flawed because there is an on-going record of complainants, and the prospect of being red-flagged as someone who has launched a complaint risks the potential for long-term repercussions if the person’s identity is not anonymized. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Bring border privacy issues under NAFTA: Geist

News | October 2, 2017

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Bring border privacy issues under NAFTA: Geist

News | October 2, 2017

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

CRTC directed to include modified U.S. home shopping programs as authorized foreign programming services

QVC approved for distribution despite CRTC finding denial was justified

BTLR recs could see U.S. tariff levies under USMCA: Geist

U.S. trade organizations upset over proposed digital tax

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us