Post-9/11 Laws Too Intrusive For Some Canadians

The survey examined the surveillance and privacy attitudes and experiences of 9,000 people from eight countries. Sixty per cent of Canadians, Hungarians, Brazilians and Chinese rejected the implementation of extra airport security checks for visible minorities. Meanwhile, only a third of Americans were against such practices. "The campaign in the United States is probably more vociferous than it is in Canada and as a result people are getting more used to the idea," said Zureik. Showing a majority of support for national ID cards: The U.S. did not have a majority with only 42 per cent in favour of the cards. The Canadian survey results showed Quebec residents supported the cards more than the country as a whole with 62 per cent in favour. "Europeans have more faith and trust in the government to regulate information," said Zureik. "Whether this is true or not we don't know but the point is that people have more faith in involving the government... less do in North America." Zureik said the survey found a gap between the media coverage of privacy issues and terrorism. "When people were asked about whether the media devotes enough attention to the privacy of information: the majority said no. They said they devote more time and coverage of stories revolving around terrorism than they do of stories involving a violation of personal information, whether by the government or the private sector." Regarding the Internet, 66 per cent of Canadians, 54 per cent of Chinese, 60 per cent of Americans, 62 per cent of Spaniards and 70 per cent of Brazilians worry about sharing personal details online. http://tinyurl.com/y73yj9 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 14, 2006]

Note: http://tinyurl.com/y73yj9