July 29 2020, Ottawa (Ontario) – The Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Shadow Minister for Industry and Economic Development, Pierre Paul-Hus, Shadow Minister for Public Safety, Border Security, and Emergency Preparedness, and Matt Jeneroux, Shadow Minister for Health, issued the following statement regarding the launch of the federal government’s national contact tracing app COVID Alert as well as the ArriveCAN app:

“For several months, Conservatives have been raising concerns about the privacy infringements and risks of implementing a contact tracing app. Not only were we concerned that the app would treat Canadians’ privacy as an afterthought, given the Trudeau government’s failure to consult the Privacy Commissioner, but also that our existing privacy laws were not suited for this task.

“When asked if he was confident whether Canadians privacy laws would protect Canadians if a breach of a contact tracing app occurred during an Industry committee meeting on the subject in May, the Privacy Commissioner responded ‘No, I am not. My office has been talking for several years about the fact that our legal framework needs to be modernized and strengthened.’

“In addition to our privacy laws being inadequate, questions remain regarding cyber-hacking safeguards. The Trudeau government has failed to outline what measures they are taking to protect Canadians’ personal information, if any.  We are also very concerned that Canadians’ personal information collected through the CBSA’s ArriveCAN app can be shared without their consent.

“As such, we have written to the Privacy Commissioner asking him to investigate these important issues.

“Canada’s Conservatives will continue to demand transparency and action from the Trudeau government to protect Canadians’ data and privacy.”

The full letter to the Privacy Commissioner is available here<https://facebook.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=59027ff5d4f8b5eea2942c986&id=82859b16aa&e=e391cea8fe>.

For more information:

Bari Miller
Office of Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, P.C., M.P.,
Calgary Nose Hill
Michelle.Rempel.A1@parl.gc.ca<mailto:Michelle.Rempel.A1@parl.gc.ca>
613-219-3452

François Delisle
Office of Pierre Paul-Hus, M.P.
Charlesbourg – Haute-Saint-Charles
pierre.paul-hus.A2@parl.gc.ca<mailto:pierre.paul-hus.A2@parl.gc.ca>
613-995-8857

Lindsay Keeley
Office of Matt Jeneroux, M.P.
Edmonton Riverbend
Matt.Jeneroux.A1@parl.gc.ca<mailto:Matt.Jeneroux@parl.gc.ca>
613-992-3594