The British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association advanced a general position paper in 1991, stating recommendations for access to information and protection of privacy legislation for British Columbia. This statement, if incorporated into legislation, has implications for all who live in British Columbia. It is the purpose of this personal essay to summarize and evaluate this document and make recommendations in order that my own position might become clear.
First, my point of view is that of an Asian who grew up in Hong Kong. As such, my perspective might be a bit different from those who have always lived in the Western Hemisphere. In general I find that people who are quite Westernized are much more privacy-oriented than those of Asian backgrounds, and I find myself, personally somewhere in the middle. I was reared in a small, close-knit household--my mother, my father, my two brothers and I--and as most Asians, we got along well in very small quarters with a minimum of fuss. Unlike Americans or Canadians, we do not feel the need for large amounts of space or time to ourselves, perhaps because our philosophy is simply different. Although my family is quite Westernized, we still retain much of the Eastern philosophy of peace within the person, regardless of outside circumstances.
It is the purpose of privacy legislation to protect the privacy of individuals about whom organizations hold information. This is accomplished by controlling methods for the collection and use of information by the institution. Thus far, the type of information protected is personal information. The precedents of the Australia Privacy Act, the Federal Privacy Act, and the Ontario Act say that personal information refers to recorded information about a certain person referring to race, ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, or family status. It also refers to the level of education, psychiatric or psy...