Wanted by the CBSA Program
The Canadian Council for Refugees complained that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) improperly disclosed an individual's personal information on its "Wanted by the CBSA" website. The program aimed to solicit public help in locating individuals with Canada-wide warrants for removal, including those accused of war crimes. The OPC found that while the disclosure of personal information was permissible under the Privacy Act as a consistent use for immigration law enforcement, the CBSA failed to ensure the information was accurate, up-to-date, and complete. Specifically, the website implied a conviction for war crimes when the individual was only deemed inadmissible under immigration law. This led to a well-founded finding regarding the accuracy of the information. The CBSA accepted five recommendations, including revisiting the amount of personal information disclosed, clarifying the distinction between criminal conviction and immigration determination, and improving the timely removal of profiles.
- 1Whether the disclosure of personal information on the "Wanted by the CBSA" website was permissible under the Privacy Act as a consistent use
- 2Whether the CBSA took all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information was accurate, up-to-date, and complete as required by the Privacy Act
- 3Whether the CBSA should have conducted a Privacy Impact Assessment before launching the program
- Disclosure of personal information: Disclosure permissible as consistent use
- Accuracy of personal information: Information found to be inaccurate/incomplete
- Recommendations accepted: Five recommendations accepted by institution
Complaint well-founded in part — corrective measures recommended and accepted
The OPC found that while disclosure was a consistent use, the CBSA failed to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, specifically regarding the nature of the individual's alleged offenses. The CBSA accepted the OPC's recommendations to address these issues.
The CBSA committed to revisiting the amount of personal information disclosed, demonstrating how public interest outweighs privacy invasion in future disclosures, clarifying the distinction between criminal conviction and immigration determination on its website, better enforcing timely profile removal, and revising its personal information bank.
- s.8(2)(a) Privacy Act
- s.6(2) Privacy Act
This summary is informational only and not legal advice.
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