I thought this was interesting enough to share with y’all, even if brief –

In a brief news story over at Truthout, translated from a French-Canadian paper, Le Devoir, we learn that the Ottawa government is proposing canceling contracts with any American companies that transmit personal information on Canadian citizens to the US government under provision of the Patriot Act:

   The Patriot Act, adopted in the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, allows the FBI broader access to the files maintained by US companies. Thus, the FBI can ask an American court to force a company to reveal its files – including those containing information concerning Canadians – in order to assist its investigations that aim to prevent terrorism or espionage. That means that American authorities could have access to information on Canadians through the intermediary of American companies or their subsidiaries, even if that data were stored in Canada.

    The Treasury Council has charged a work group to elaborate special dispositions that would have to be included in future documents and business contracts to reduce this risk. According to the preliminary proposal, federal data bases containing confidential information created by businesses would have to be situated in Canada and accessible only from inside the country. The government suggests that businessmen not be able to conclude a contract until they have committed to respect Canadian privacy laws.

Nice to see that at least some folks have a government that respects their citizen’s privacy…