Canadian pharmaceutical legislation ignites privacy fears.

• Position: PRIVACY

Earlier this year, British Columbia's (BC) Minister of Health Michael de Jong introduced the Pharmaceutical Services Act (Bill 35) intended to lower the price of generic drugs. But, the bill would also allow researchers to access personal health information stored by the provincial government, which has prompted privacy advocates, including BC Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, to voice their concerns.

"I have concerns about the reduced transparency of government's decision-making and the infringement of personal privacy that will result from this bill," said Denham in a letter to de Jong.

Further, according to a May 2 article in The Vancouver Sun, she is concerned about the bill granting the health minister the unrestricted right to disclose personal healthcare information--a concern echoed by Vincent Gogolek, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. "What were sound protections are now being eroded," Gogolek asserted in an interview with the newspaper.

The Sun article postulates that it was in anticipation of the bill's introduction that former health minister and current member of the Legislative...