The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

On Twitter

About this page and the author

The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

Privacy Calendar

Links

RSS FEED for this site

Blogs I Follow

Small Print

The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Theft of information from union office under investigation in Nova Scotia

From the Halifax Chronicle Herald earlier this week:

The ChronicleHerald.ca:
Pace of information theft probe frustrates C.B. union manager
Members’ information was stolen
By ASHLEIGH McKENNA and SHERRI BORDEN COLLEY Staff Reporter
The business manager of a Cape Breton union is upset that records for its 400-plus members that went missing more than a year ago still haven’t been recovered.
Files containing social insurance numbers, addresses, and bank account and income tax information were taken from the Sydney office of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1852 in September 2005, Brian Tobin said Wednesday night.
"It’s frustrating, to say the least," he said.
"Here’s all this personal, confidential information out there in the hands of who knows who and there’s nothing being done about it."
Mr. Tobin said the information was stolen by a former employee.
No union members have reported that their information has been misused, but the implications of what could be done with the data are worrisome, he said.
"This is a pretty scary business."
When he took over as business manager in April, Mr. Tobin said he called the Cape Breton Regional Police and any municipal representatives he thought might help.
The union also filed charges with its international office, which allowed the former employee to remain in the 438-member union on the condition that he returns the records, Mr. Tobin said.
Insp. Tom Hastie confirmed that Cape Breton Regional Police received a complaint about "some suspicions and some missing documents" in May.
"The file is ongoing and still under investigation," Insp. Hastie said.
Police do have a suspect or suspects in mind.
"There are some leads, obviously, in the case and any of these types of frauds or thefts from within establishments such as that, they’re quite in-depth and involved, and the onus is on us to make sure that we do a very thorough investigation," he said.