Federal (Canada) privacy & access decisions

A man complained that Canada Post checked his credit rating when he requested an online change of address. The OPC investigated whether Canada Post's practice of using Equifax for identity verification in online change-of-address requests violated the Privacy Act. The OPC found that Canada Post has a legitimate need to confirm identity to prevent identity theft and that it does not conduct a credit verification. However, the OPC was concerned that individuals were not adequately informed about the sharing of their personal information with Equifax. Canada Post implemented the OPC's recommendations to improve transparency.

• Whether Canada Post's use of Equifax for identity verification constituted a credit check
• Whether Canada Post had the statutory authority to collect personal information for identity verification
• Whether individuals were adequately informed about the sharing of their personal information with Equifax

A complaint was filed on behalf of a refugee, alleging that personal information about him was disclosed to a National Post reporter. The refugee was a passenger on the 'Ocean Lady' and was later identified in a news story as a fugitive sought by INTERPOL. The complainant named four federal institutions as potentially responsible for the disclosure: the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The OPC's investigation confirmed the individual was a wanted fugitive with publicly available INTERPOL information. Due to journalistic confidentiality, the OPC could not determine how the reporter obtained the information. In the absence of evidence, the OPC found no support for the allegation that any of the named institutions disclosed the information.

• Whether any of the named federal institutions disclosed personal information about a refugee to a newspaper reporter
• Whether the publicly available INTERPOL notice constituted a disclosure by the institutions