Federal (Canada) privacy & access decisions

An employee complained that her personal information was repeatedly disclosed to another employee with the same name, and that numerous administrative errors occurred in their respective files. The OPC found that the government institution contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act by mistakenly disclosing the complainant's personal information, including her PRI, email, mailing address, and financial and health information. It also contravened subsection 6(2) of the Act by failing to ensure the accuracy of personal information used for administrative purposes, leading to errors in employee files. The OPC concluded that these issues were systemic due to human error and a lack of awareness among employees regarding privacy breach reporting procedures. The institution accepted the OPC's recommendations to prevent unauthorized disclosures and ensure data accuracy, leading to a conditionally resolved finding.

• Whether the government institution contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act by mistakenly disclosing the complainant’s personal information to another employee with the same name
• Whether the government institution contravened subsection 6(2) of the Privacy Act by failing to ensure that personal information used for administrative purposes was accurate, up-to-date, and complete
• Whether the repeated disclosures and inaccuracies constituted a systemic problem
• Whether the institution's assessment of the sensitivity of the disclosed information was appropriate

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) conducted a special investigation into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) collection of open-source information under Project Wide Awake (PWA), triggered by a complaint from MP Charlie Angus. The investigation focused on the RCMP's use of third-party services, specifically Babel Street's Babel X, for collecting personal information from various online sources. The OPC found that the RCMP failed to conduct adequate due diligence to ensure that the personal information collected via Babel X and its data providers complied with Canadian privacy laws, particularly PIPEDA. Furthermore, the OPC determined that the RCMP did not meet its transparency obligations under Section 11 of the Privacy Act, as its Personal Information Bank (PIB) descriptions were inadequate in detailing the types and purposes of open-source information collected. The RCMP did not agree to implement the OPC's recommendations, including ceasing collection from problematic Babel X sources until a thorough review was completed and updating its PIB descriptions with sufficient granularity. Consequently, both issues were found to be well-founded and unresolved.

• Whether the RCMP's collection of personal information via Social Studio complied with Section 4 of the Privacy Act.
• Whether the RCMP's collection of personal information via Babel X complied with Section 4 of the Privacy Act.
• Whether the RCMP conducted adequate due diligence on the lawfulness of collection practices of Babel X and its data providers.
• Whether Section 4 of the Privacy Act permits the collection of personal information from a third-party agent that collected, used, or disclosed the information in contravention of a law that third party is subject to.
• Whether the RCMP's publicly available descriptions of its open-source information gathering are granular enough to meet transparency obligations under Section 11 of the Privacy Act.
• Whether the RCMP's published descriptions clarify limits on purposes for collection under Section 11 of the Privacy Act.
• Whether the RCMP's descriptions of open-source information collection and related purposes are adequate under Section 11 of the Privacy Act.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) investigated a complaint against Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regarding a privacy breach. IRCC inadvertently disclosed the personal information of 497 individuals when sending mass email notifications for a work permit extension program. An employee failed to apply a filter to the email address column in an Excel spreadsheet, causing email addresses to misalign with other personal data, leading to notifications being sent to incorrect recipients. The OPC found that IRCC contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act by disclosing personal information without a permissible purpose and that its prevention measures were insufficient. While IRCC's mitigation efforts, including notifying affected individuals, were deemed adequate, the OPC recommended implementing robust procedural and administrative controls. IRCC accepted these recommendations, committing to measures such as a 'two pairs of eyes' rule, updated operating procedures, and data quality assurance checks. Consequently, the OPC considered the matter resolved.

• Whether IRCC's disclosure of personal information to unintended recipients contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act.
• Whether IRCC had sufficient measures in place to prevent unauthorized disclosures of personal information of this nature.
• Whether IRCC's response to mitigate the impact of the breach on affected individuals was adequate.