Political parties asked to respect elector’s privacy

Canada’s political parties are being asked to adopt privacy policies to protect the data they collect about voters. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Chief Electoral Officer have issued a statement reminding political parties that they are required to develop specific privacy policies, submit them to Elections Canada and to publish them online by July 1, 2019.

A federal election is scheduled for October 21, 2019.

Canadian tax forms include a section asking for permission to share personal information with Elections Canada. Basic information like name, address and birth date is then shared with political parties. (iStock)

Not a legal obligation, just asking

This requirement is not legal obligation nor is it supervised by an  independent oversight body. But political parties are “encouraged” to comply with several guidelines.

Among them, guidelines say political parties should clearly explain what personal information will be used and whether it will be shared. The parties should obtain meaningful consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

Voters should be allowed to correct personal information

Individuals should have access to their information and the chance to correct and it should only be kept as long as necessary and then be destroyed.

The guidance was created based on a report published by the privacy commissioner of the province of British Columbia. It has investigated how political parties in that province manage personal information.

Canada’s privacy commissioner has called for a law that would create obligations based on internationally recognized privacy principles and for an independent third party with authority to verify compliance.