By Phil Rogers
Volume 3:3 July 2000
Introduction
With the omnipresence of computer networks in all spheres of modern society, as well as the ever increasing speed with which technology develops, organizations are in a position, more than ever, to collect personal information about consumers (including things such as ethnic origin, age, marital status, education, criminal or medical data, and financial history), communicate it rapidly and extensively, and use it to provide their services. Indeed, personal information is now a marketable asset which has a considerable commercial value: it can be bought, sold and traded not only within the boundaries of each province, but nationally and internationally. In response to this new reality, Prime Minister Chrétien announced, on September 22, 1998, the Canadian Electronic Commerce Strategy, which aims at "recreating in cyberspace the same expectations of trust, confidence and reliability that now exist in everyday commerce".
