Security of Information Act

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Further information: Security Clearances in Canada

Further information: Information Classification in Canada

In Canada, the Security of Information Act is part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act (Bill C-36)^[1] which received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001 and came into effect on December 24, 2001. This Act renamed and replaced Official Secrets Act 1981. The Act was amended to address national security concerns, including threats of espionage by foreign powers and terrorist groups, and the intimidation or coercion of ethnocultural communities in Canada.

Various actions are prohibited under the Act, including, but not necessarily limited to:

Forgery
Economic Espionage
Impersonation
Leakage of special operational information
Leakage of information that the Government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard
Communications with Foreign Entities or Terrorist Groups
Preparatory Acts
Foreign-influenced (Or Terrorist-influenced) Threats and Violence
Harbouring and Concealing
Conspiracy, Coup d'état, and Attempts etc.

Certain departments ('Scheduled department') and classes of people (past and current employees) are 'permanently bound to secrecy' under the Act. These are individuals who should be held to a higher level of accountability for unauthorized disclosures of information obtained in relation to their work. For example, employees of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Communications Security Establishment and certain members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

This act applies to anyone who have been granted security clearance by the Federal Government, including those who have been granted Enhanced Reliability Status for accessing designated information. Previously, only 'classified' information were protected under the Official Secrets Act 1981.

[edit] References

Security of Information Act. Criminal Code of Canada. Queen's Printer for Canada (2006-9-15). Retrieved on 2006-11-12.

[edit] See also

Information security

[edit] External links

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