The Toronto Star   

by Kent Edward Baxter
Originally Written: Thursday, 2 October 2001

An Unhealthy Obsession

Sir,

After reading about how Canadian victims of the World Trade Centre attack cannot be identified ('Why there's no list of Canadian Dead' - 28 September), I feel it is high time that the Privacy Commission of Canada be abolished. It is bad enough that in normal times that this waste of taxpayer dollars is intruding on us, especially in how we relate to other human beings. 

Think of the outrage, please, if the Privacy Commission decreed that all memorial plaques and cenotaphs be removed or destroyed simply because they displayed the names of those who died, and because nobody was sure if all the families of the dead consented to having their names listed. It would almost be a denial or an indifference to the fact that lives were lost, out of 'principle', and 'respect' for privacy. 

Pure and simple, the obsession over privacy is social engineering at its worst, and an embarrassment to our nation, especially in this time of tragedy.

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