TPP Would Subject Canadian Citizens’ Banking Data to U.S. PATRIOT Act

A provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, to which Canada and the United States are parties, makes it “quite likely” that the private banking details of Canadian citizens could be “accessible to American security intelligence agencies,” according to a member of the Canadian parliament.

 

Speaking on May 12 in the House of Commons, Parliament member Guy Caron warned fellow lawmakers that the sprawling surveillance state to the south of Canada could soon swallow up private banking data in Canada.

 

“Right now, Canadian data, such as banking information and confidential information, are stored on Canadian servers, which are obviously not accessible to the United States at the moment and do not fall within the scope of the USA Patriot Act,” Caron said. “However, the provision that requires these types of data to be stored on Canadian servers may be removed. It is therefore quite likely that these data could be stored on servers on American soil, where they would be accessible to American security intelligence agencies.”

 

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