Proclamation Giving Notice that the Supplementary Agreement to the Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Federal Republic of Germany Comes Into Force on December 1, 2003 — (9)
(9) The text of Article 20 of the Agreement is deleted and replaced by the following: “(1) The agencies of a Contracting State referred to in Article 16(1) shall, in accordance with: (a) the legislation of that Contracting State, and (b) this Agreement or any arrangement concluded pursuant to Article 21 for the implementation of this Agreement, transmit to the competent agencies of the other Contracting State any information in their possession about an individual required for the application of this Agreement or of the legislation to which this Agreement applies. (2) Any information about an individual transmitted under paragraph (1) by an agency of one Contracting State to an agency of the other Contracting State shall be protected in each Contracting State in accordance with its legislation and the following provisions: (a) The agency of a Contracting State to which the information is transmitted shall treat that information as confidential and shall effectively protect it against unauthorized access, unauthorized alterations and unauthorized disclosure in accordance with the legislation of that Contracting State. (b) The agency of a Contracting State to which the information is transmitted may use that information, and may disclose it to other agencies in that Contracting State, for the purposes of implementing this Agreement or the legislation of that Contracting State. The information may be put to other uses and may be disclosed to other bodies only to the extent specifically permitted under the legislation of that Contracting State. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall inform each other about all amendments to their legislation regarding the protection of personal information and, in particular, additional purposes for which such information may be used or disclosed to other bodies. The Contracting State whose legislation has been amended shall, at the request of the other Contracting State, enter into negotiations to amend or supplement this Agreement, as may be required. (c) In individual cases, the agency to which the information is transmitted shall, at the request of the agency which has transmitted that information, inform the latter of the use to which that information has been put and the outcome thereof. (d) The individual concerned shall, on request to the agency of either Contracting State, have the right to be informed of the information which has been transmitted, and the purpose for which that information has been requested or transmitted, as the case may be. (e) The agency which transmits the information shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the information is accurate and is strictly limited to that absolutely necessary for the purpose of the transmission. (i) If it becomes evident that incorrect information was transmitted, the agency which has received the information must be immediately notified of this fact, and it shall immediately correct the incorrect information. (ii) If it becomes evident that the transmission of the information is prohibited under the legislation of the transmitting Contracting State, the agency which has received the information must be immediately notified of this fact, and that agency shall delete that information unless the information is required - to combat abuse or - to prosecute criminal offences in the context of the legislation which that agency administers or any other laws or provisions concerning social benefits. (f) The agency of a Contracting State to which the information is transmitted shall delete that information in accordance with the legislation of that Contracting State. (3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to industrial and business secrets accordingly.”