BCGEU demands halt to outsourcing of private data

Privacy commissioner's report blows whistle
on flawed B.C. Liberal outsourcing plan

Victoria - The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) is calling on the Campbell Liberals to stop plans to contract out the administration of personal and confidential information on British Columbians in wake of a damning B.C. privacy commissioner's report Friday.

"We were right," said BCGEU president George Heyman.

"The privacy commissioner's report confirms the USA Patriot Act is a huge threat to the privacy of British Columbians, and validates the concerns we raised. There's no iron-clad guarantee that the FBI won't or can't access our personal information once it's handed over to American-linked companies," Heyman said.

"Commissioner Loukidelis has set a very high bar for the government to jump over before it can outsource our personal medical and financial information to American-linked companies. It's going to take a lot more than just amending a law or re-jigging a contract to comply with his extensive list of recommendations.

"The only rational response for the B.C. government is to put the brakes on outsourcing. Not only is it a simple, pragmatic solution to the problem, it's more immediate and a lot less expensive than compliance with the commissioner's recommendations," Heyman said.

Praised commissioner

Heyman praised the privacy commissioner for his thorough investigation, saying it must have been "a monumental task" given the complexities of the issues and the huge number of submissions from civil liberties groups, academics, unions, advocacy groups, the legal community, and individuals concerned about protecting the public's right to privacy.

"The commissioner points out this is far more than just a provincial issue - the protection of personal information from foreign orders is an issue that needs to be addressed at the federal and even international levels. That could take years," Heyman said.

The BCGEU was the first to raise the alarm about the implications of the USA Patriot Act by issuing a court challenge over the contracting out of the administration of the Medical Services Plan (MSP) to the Arizona-based Maximus corporation. The government is also contracting out PharmaCare, government payroll, Provincial Revenue, disaster recovery, and workstation support services.

Heyman said the union will continue to pursue the matter through the courts and is considering a range of legal options, including seeking an injunction to stop the signing of any further contracts with U.S.-linked companies until the government fulfills the recommendations contained in the privacy commissioner's report.

Personal information at risk through the outsourcing of Provincial Revenue functions alone includes everything from name, address, telephone number, social insurance number, family history, employment history, income, credit card and bank account numbers, and even charitable donations and mortgage details.

The contract to administer MSP and PharmaCare includes access to an individual's 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. NUPGE

More information:
• Privacy and the USA Patriot Act pdf
• Patriot Act will prevail over B.C. privacy legislation
• U.S. would overwhelm feeble B.C. privacy protections
• 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 pdf

Web posted by NUPGE: 28 October 2004

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