[R-G] CIA may have accessed Canadian banking records

[Anthony Fenton]

CIA may have accessed Canadian banking records

Updated Wed. Jun. 28 2006 11:21 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canada's privacy commissioner is investigating whether United States  
officials have improperly received the banking records of Canadians.

The Toronto Star reports the investigation is also trying to  
determine if the Central Intelligence Agency was given unauthorized  
access to the confidential files.

"This is something we're looking into," Anne-Marie Hayden,  
spokesperson for the privacy commissioner's office, told the newspaper.

"Any time personal information of Canadians is obtained by a foreign  
government in circumstances that may not provide the same privacy  
protections that exist in Canada, we have concerns."

On Tuesday, a human rights group filed formal complaints in 32  
countries, including Canada, against a Brussels-based banking  
consortium for providing the U.S. with confidential information about  
international money transfers, the International Herald Tribune  
reported.

The London-based Privacy International alleges the Society for  
Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, has  
violated rules in numerous jurisdictions by handing over the data.

SWIFT is the hub of the global banking industry, and runs an  
electronic messaging service that 7,800 financial institutions --  
including ones in Canada -- use to transfer billions of dollars each  
day, among other things.

Last week, the New York Times revealed details of a secret program  
under which U.S. officials and the CIA gathered banking information  
from SWIFT.

The Bush administration had asked the newspaper not to print the  
story. The government defended the program, saying it is a valuable  
tool in its international war on terror.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060628/ 
privacy_investigation_060628/20060628?hub=Canada