February 23, 2006
PRESS RELEASE:
Privacy Commissioner of Canada (PCC):
There is reason for concern that the Privacy Commission does not exercise the powers it has been given and fails to discharge its responsibilities, said CJRB Chairman David Kahn in a February 15th letter to Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. On October 25, 2005, following a review of the PCC's report to Parliament, the CJRB noticed and wrote to Ms. Stoddart about the lack of prosecution of the numerous well-founded complaints the PCC identifies annually at Revenue Canada (CCRA) and Human Resources (HRDC). Unlike other breaches of the Privacy Act, improper disclosure of personal financial information by CCRA or HRDC employees is governed by section 242(1) of the Income Tax Act. This section makes improper disclosure an offence punishable by a $5,000 fine and/or imprisonment. The CJRB does not accept the PCC's position that it has no power under the Income Tax Act. "We believe that every Canadian citizen and Agency has a responsibility to report unlawful activity of this sort to the Crown Prosecutor and RCMP. The Privacy Commission and the Privacy Commissioner are no different and are not exempt from this duty "said Mr. Kahn.
The penalties referred to in section 242(1) of the Income Tax Act apply equally to persons giving, or persons soliciting and receiving private information. Knowledge of an opponent's financial situation can be important because, as noted by Ottawa columnist Dave Brown, "when it comes right down to it, a legal battle is war, its weaponry is money and the winner is the side with the most firepower... it's a machine that must win. It becomes not a matter of justice, but a need to win." The problems identified by the PCC arguably represent the tip of an iceberg. Many more intrusions go unnoticed and therefore do not become the subject of a complaint to the PCC. The CCRA maintains an audit system that can detect unauthorized access and savvy people in litigation etc., can protect themselves by requesting an audit. The CJRB finds that the PCC recognizes that CCRA shares information with HRDC and knows HRDC lacks any audit capability. For reasons that are not apparent, at least not to the CJRB, the PCC does not alert the Crown Prosecutor or the RCMP when it finds breaches of section 242 of the Income Tax Act. In her reply, Ms. Stoddart indicates that she now recognizes that this is an important matter and is passing on the correspondence to the legal department for consideration. In essence, this means that the laws protecting private information lodged with CCRA and HRDC are not being enforced.
To review the correspondence in this file click on:
February_23rd letter from PCC Stoddart to the CJRB
February_15th
letter from the CJRB to PCC Stoddart 
November_10th
letter from the PCC to the CJRB