LETTER

Privacy laws, an election issue? 

With Canada’s election just around the corner, I’m concerned that our political parties are not protecting the personal information they gather from us.  They should be made subject to federal privacy laws. Political parties should follow the same rules as companies; it’s only fair. Privacy matters regardless of who we vote for. In this election, I believe all the parties should commit to protecting our privacy and I’ll be looking to see if they do when I make my voting decision.

Are you concerned about your personal data being compromised, or wish that you could know it’s being properly stored and safeguarded?  

Our current rules mean that political parties are operating as though there are no laws or oversight governing how they collect, use or store our data – and no requirements for disclosure if sensitive political information has been hacked or breached.  The data that political parties hold on us – political affiliation, voting intention, donation history and demographic information – is obviously sensitive.

Canada’s political parties must be subject to federal privacy laws to protect our privacy and build trust in our democratic processes. Our privacy, our democracy and our electoral process are at risk due to outdated privacy laws that fail to protect people in Canada. 

Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer and the Privacy Commissioner both support amending the law to provide protection for our sensitive political data. To ensure the trust of voters, political parties should make a commitment to change this in their party platforms this election.

Larry McFall, 

Ottawa