Greetings All. In the past little while there has been a number of postings to different mail lists regarding privacy legislation that took effect in Canada on 1 January 2004. In the postings that I have seen it is obvious that few people understand the scope and purpose of the legislation, and because of this fear is spreading that it means the 'end of genealogy research in Canada'. Before anyone goes off the deep end they should understand that while new legislation was indeed enacted it was not done on a spur of the moment and that there was a considerable period during which the Provincial governments had time to review the proposed legislation and to enact their own legislation that at least matched, or exceeded the provisions of the Federal legislation. Some provinces did exactly that. The Bill which brought forth this legislation was debated at length in Parliament before it was passed. The legislation in question is the 'Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act'. It can be viewed online at the following URL. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/p-8.6/91355.html I would urge anyone and everyone with concerns about what they can do, and not do, to access and read this legislation. I copy here a small part of it that states the purpose of the act, who it applies to, and who it does not apply to. It mostly concerns businesses and commercial activities, and to some extent to non-profit organizations. It does not prevent, as one posting suggested, someone from asking their wife for information regarding her siblings. Do not panic. The end of the world (genealogically speaking) has not yet arrived. ============================== 3. The purpose of this Part is to establish, in an era in which technology increasingly facilitates the circulation and exchange of information, rules to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in a manner that recognizes the right of privacy of individuals with respect to their personal information and the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances. Application 4. (1) This Part applies to every organization in respect of personal information that (a) the organization collects, uses or discloses in the course of commercial activities; or (b) is about an employee of the organization and that the organization collects, uses or discloses in connection with the operation of a federal work, undertaking or business. (2) This Part does not apply to (a) any government institution to which the Privacy Act applies; (b) any individual in respect of personal information that the individual collects, uses or discloses for personal or domestic purposes and does not collect, use or disclose for any other purpose; or (c) any organization in respect of personal information that the organization collects, uses or discloses for journalistic, artistic or literary purposes and does not collect, use or disclose for any other purpose. =============================== Happy Hunting Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted.