Canada's air travel data collection hit

Canadian aviation authorities and Royal Canadian Mounted Police are collecting too much information on air travelers, the federal privacy commissioner says. In her annual report to Parliament, Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart cited numerous problems observed or reported in the past year involving airport security officials with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. "Documents containing sensitive personal information were left on open shelves and in plain view in a room where passengers may be taken for security checks," Stoddart said. The report also said CATSA staff had been reporting to police information on domestic travelers carrying large amounts of cash, which is only required for international flights. Stoddart said such activities have nothing to do with flight safety and should be stopped. She reported CATSA has taken measures to remedy the problems. As for the Mounties, the commissioner said the force hadn't been thorough enough in purging outdated information on people in a national database or in keeping the information current. "People who were convicted of an offence they did not commit, or who have been granted a pardon, have a right to go about their lives without information -- and especially misinformation -- about their past coming to light," the report said. "Such information must be more tightly controlled."