Spies should not be allowed to keep innocent people’s data, privacy czars say
OTTAWA — Canada’s spy agencies should destroy the data trails of innocent people they incidentally collect during terrorism investigations once the actual targets have been cleared of suspicion, say Canada’s privacy watchdogs.
The declaration Tuesday from privacy commissioners across the country came after a judge recently ruled the Canadian Security Intelligence Service violated the law by keeping potentially revealing electronic data about people who were not under investigation.
The message was part of a joint submission signed by federal, provincial and territorial privacy czars that urged the Trudeau government to strengthen protection of personal information as it revamps the national security regime.
Rather than expand state powers and reduce individual rights, it is time to beef up legal standards and oversight to prevent repetition of mistakes, said federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien, flanked at a news conference by counterparts Brian Beamish from Ontario and Jean Chartier of Quebec.