The Canadian Press CTV.ca | Universities keep private info from Patriot Act: HALIFAX -- A controversial U.S. law designed to fight terrorism has reached into the halls of Canadian academia, with universities finding ways to keep electronic data about their students out of American hands.

Some provinces have passed legislation designed to protect private information from sweeping powers outlined in the U.S. Patriot Act, which compels American companies to turn over virtually any information that the U.S. government requests.

Universities have had to spend money switching to computer servers strictly on Canadian soil, and have changed their relationships with online tools that detect plagiarism or help with research. They have also prevented professors from carrying laptops containing student information across the border.

"What it's done is added an additional layer of bureaucracy for us," says Charles Crosbie, a spokesman with Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"And people aren't happy with that, obviously, but it's something that we're obliged to do."

The U.S. Congress approved the Patriot Act shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It gives the government wide-reaching powers to investigate terrorism, often with little judicial oversight.

The Nova Scotia legislature passed a law aimed at shielding information from the Patriot Act late last year. Under the provincial law, public bodies are largely prevented from storing any private electronic information in the United States. If they run afoul of the law, institutions can face fines of up to $500,000.

Dalhousie University - which lobbied against the legislation, arguing restrictions could adversely affect cross-border research - has had to renegotiate contracts for some of its computing services and in some cases switch providers altogether.

For example, the university used a New York-based service that creates virtual classrooms for distance learning. The servers that run the software had to be moved to Canada, which cost the university more than $15,000, said Phil O'Hara, who works in the university's IT department.

And if professors have any information about students on their computers, such as names or university ID numbers, they can't bring them across the border unless it's absolutely necessary for their work, said Crosbie.

British Columbia revised its privacy legislation to deal with the Patriot Act in 2004, placing restrictions on the ability of public organizations to contract computing work to companies outside Canada. The law also imposes restrictions on travelling with computers containing personal data.

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