U.S. would overwhelm feeble B.C. privacy protections

Provincial privacy agreements will be no
match for FBI or U.S. Patriot Act powers

Vancouver - Premier Gordon Campbell is dreaming if he thinks confidential information on British Columbians will not be compromised by outsourcing B.C. information technology (IT) contracts to American companies.

Privacy guarantees with contractors will be no match for the prying post-9/11 eyes of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the all- intrusive powers of the U.S Patriot Act, says the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE).

Personal information at risk through the foreign privatization (at B.C. Revenue alone) includes name, address, telephone number, social insurance number, family history to employment history, income, credit card and bank numbers, charitable donations and mortgage details, the union says.

A separate contract to administer Medical Services Plan (MSP) and PharmaCare would risk access to medical reports, psychological and mental health reports, x-rays, photographs, details of surgeries, prescription history, doctors’ names, and any restrictions on individual doctors prohibiting them from writing certain prescriptions.

Feeble 'firewalls'

Any "firewalls" B.C. tries to erect will be meaningless against such awesome U.S. powers, says the BCGEU.

"There’s only one foolproof way to keep our personal and confidential information out of the hands of the FBI," the union says in a submission to the B.C. Privacy Commissioner. "Leave it in government where it belongs."

"The FBI can use the USA Patriot Act to knock down any legal, constitutional or electronic walls to get British Columbians’ personal information," says BCGEU president George Heyman.

"And once that information is released it’s impossible to predict how far within American agencies it will be distributed, or how it will be used," he adds.

"In this era of post 9/11 hysteria, where American authorities call Canada as a haven for terrorists, that’s an empty reassurance. In our submission, we argue there’s every indication that for the United States, homeland security is its first, highest priority-the rights of its own citizens are a distant second, and it is unconcerned about the sensitivities of other nations."

Alarm bells everywhere

Heyman criticized the Campbell government for ignoring widely reported problems with outsourced IT contracts. Media have reported difficulties with at least two of the American companies who have been awarded B.C. contracts.

For example National Heritage Insurance Company, an EDS subsidiary in Texas, was accused in a state audit of overcharging $31.3 million in 2002 while administering the U.S. Medicaid program. The Campbell Liberals have contracted with an EDS subsidiary in B.C. to administer Provincial Revenue functions.

Maximus, the U.S. company that has been contracted to administer MSP and PharmaCare, is reported to have had contract difficulties in Wisconsin, Arizona and Connecticut. It cost over $1 million more to run an Arizona welfare-to-work pilot program than if it had been publicly administered by the state, the BCGEU reports.

"Why would government continue to outsource when the risk is so high?" asks Heyman.

"Jurisdiction after jurisdiction has experienced cost over-runs, system collapses, service delivery problems, over-charging. Now that the Patriot Act adds the risk of total disclosure of a vast quantity of personal data, it makes outsourcing simply irresponsible."

The BCGEU has initiated a court challenge over the contracting out of MSP and requested a public inquiry into the growing number of contracts the government is negotiating with American multi-national corporations, including PharmaCare, government payroll, Provincial Revenue, disaster recovery, and workstation support services.

More information:
• Quick Facts - Powers of the U.S. Patriot Act
• Part 1 - BCGEU Submission to Privacy Commissioner on U.S. Patriot Act pdf
• Part 2 - BCGEU Submission to Privacy Commissioner on U.S. Patriot Act

Web posted by NUPGE: 11 August 2004

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