[3442] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Bill C-54: Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (M Taylor)
Fri Oct 9 00:10:09 1998
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 00:54:37 -0300 (ADT)
From: M Taylor <mctaylor@privacy.nb.ca>
To: cryptography@c2.net
Bill C-54 has been introduced in Parliament (Canada), back on Oct 1, 1998.
"Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act"
Bill C-54 - online copy, first reading, from Parilimentary web site
<http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-54/C-54_1/C-54_cover-E.html>
"An Act to support and promote electronic commerce by protecting personal
information that is collected, used or disclosed in certain circumstances,
by providing for the use of electronic means to communicate or record
information or transactions and by amending the Canada Evidence Act, the
Statutory Instruments Act and the Statute Revision Act"
This contains a lot of amendments including clairfing the role of digital
signatures in Canada's legal landscape, electronic 'evidence' - such a
strong word for something so mutable, personal privacy of information -
in private industry, "framework for electronic commerce", and I'm certain
a few other goodies.
I haven't had time to review it entirely, it appears posed to greatly
influence how digital signatures will be used by the government of Canada,
including for Notary purposes and electronic commerce. So digital
signature might clearly become binding within the year - I'm sure this is
a good sign. I haven't checked, but the protection of personal information
might includ requirements of security which lend themselves to suggesting
that encryption is necessary for the protection of confidential personal
information in the hands of the private and public sectors in Canada.
--
M Taylor mctaylor@ / glyphmetrics.ca | privacy.nb.ca
