Elections Canada may be exposing voters to ID theft: privacy commissioner

Canadian voters are at risk of identity theft because of voters lists that go missing and are circulated widely among political parties, says Canada's privacy commissioner.

"The personal information of Canadian voters is not adequately protected," commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said Thursday in a statement after presenting a report to Parliament highlighting the issue. "We're concerned that voters' personal information could fall into the wrong hands and be used for illegal activities."

Stoddart looked into the practices of four federal agencies that collect personal information such as birthdates and addresses:

- Canada Revenue Agency.

- Elections Canada.

- Passport Canada.

- Service Canada.

The report found that in the case of Elections Canada:

- Some voters lists went missing during elections and byelections.

- Elections Canada collects too much personal information on voters, including some teenagers too young to vote.

- Paper and electronic copies of voter lists are widely circulated to political parties and candidates, who aren't required by law to protect privacy.

- Such parties don't have a formal way to report privacy breaches to Elections Canada. Canadians aren't fully informed about how their personal information will be used.

The report was prepared in collaboration with Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who presented her own report on whether the departments examined by Stoddart work together to manage the information efficiently in accordance with the law and collect only the information that is relevant to delivering their programs.