Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Canada

press conference: Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is shown at a press conference in Ottawa on Nov. 24, 2015. The Security of Canada Sharing Information Act, part of the omnibus security bill known as C-51, expanded the exchange of federally held information about activity that "undermines the security of Canada." Sharing law criticized by privacy watchdog The former Conservative government, which brought in the bill, argued the measures were needed because some federal agencies lacked or had unclear legal authority to share information related to national security, according to Huffington Post Canada. However, the sharing law drew criticism last year from privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien, who said it could make available all federally held information about someone of interest to as many as 17 government departments and agencies with responsibilities for national security. Briefing notes prepared for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale say Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and a fourth agency whose name is blacked out of the records have used the provisions. The legislation set the threshold for sharing Canadians' personal data far too low, he said. Even so, the briefing notes say the privacy commissioner "has been engaged throughout the implementation phase" of the new sharing law, which received royal assent in June. In addition, Therrien was concerned the bill contained no clear limits on how long the information would be kept. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.