Parliamentary committee to study federal departments' use of tools to extract personal data - Action News
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Ottawa

Parliamentary committee to study federal departments' use of tools to extract personal data

A parliamentary committee voted unanimously to look into the federal government's use of tools capable of extracting personal data from devices following a Radio-Canada report.

Privacy, ethics committee MPs unanimously vote to look into usage following Radio-Canada report

A man sitting at press conference table in front of Canadian flags.
Standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics vice-chair Ren Villemure in October. The Bloc Quebecois MP says his committee will study the federal use of tools that extract personal data from devices. (The Canadian Press)

A parliamentary committee will look into the use of tools capable of extracting personal data from mobile phones, computers and tabletswithin the federal government.

The Bloc Qubcois motion requesting such a study was adopted Wednesday with unanimous support from members ofthe standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics.

According to a Radio-Canada report published last week, at least 13 federal departments and agencies use these tools during investigations, for example.

The tools in question can be usedto recover and analyze data found on computers, tablets and mobile phones,including information that has been encrypted and password-protected.This can includetext messages, contacts, photos and travel history.

However, none of the agencies or departmentshave carried out a privacy impact assessment prior to their use of this technology, as required by a directive from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Bloc MP Ren Villemure, one of the vice-chairs of the standing committee,presented the motion and said he welcomesthe committee's decision to scrutinize usage of the technology.

"Citizens are concerned about their privacy," he said. "When we hear of departments or organizations using such techniques to observe people, frankly it is unacceptable."

A conference table and people sitting.
The MPs who sit on the standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics voted in favor of a motion to study the use of such technology in the federal government. (Radio-Canada)

Liberal MP Mona Fortier, the other vice-chair, said she's concerned that the departments "probably did notfollow the protocols that are in place."

"But I would like to say that the government is not there to spy on civil servants or departments," said Fortier,who was president of the Treasury Board until this past July.

The committee plans to start this study at the end of January.

The President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand, the leaders or senior officials of the 13 federal institutions that use these tools, the privacy commissioner and leaders of unions that represent civil servants will be among those called to appear before the committee.