Byrne says feds walking away from information leak

OTTAWA - According to Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte MP Gerry Byrne, a federal agency may have exposed personal information about private citizens.

Byrne said that constituents have begun calling his office worried about a letter they received from Service Canada informing them personal information supplied to the federal government, in the form of Employment Insurance applications, has been lost and potentially compromised.

Letters were sent out informing the people affected they are now at an increased risk of identity theft, he said, and the personal information might be able to be accessed by someone involved in identify fraud.

"The federal government is refusing to give details, but electronic records related to EI claims were either lost or stolen while they were being stored on a portable memory stick device during computer servicing," Byrne said.

The MP said his constituents are being told they are individually responsible for monitoring whether or not someone uses this information to steal their identity, and ruin both their bank accounts and credit rating.

"People are being advised by the federal government to use the services of Equifax or another credit-monitoring company to determine if their identities and their bank accounts are being used fraudulently from here on in," he said. "The federal government appears to be walking away from their mistake by not providing more support and assistance to those who, through no fault of their own, have had their personal information compromised."

Byrne said this is the second instance in a relatively short time that Service Canada has exposed residents to possible identity fraud.

In November, he said thousands of people from Atlantic Canada on old-age assistance had their information compromised when a laptop computer containing personal files was stolen from a Service Canada office.

Byrne is calling on the federal government to tighten up security of personal information and to create a compensation policy for people affected by events like this and experience financial losses by the security lapses.