To the editor,
With Canada’s election just around the corner, I’m concerned that our political parties are not protecting the personal information they gather from us. I believe that they should be made subject to federal privacy laws. Political parties should follow the same rules companies have to – it’s only fair. Privacy matters regardless of who we vote for. In this election, I believe all the parties should commit to protecting our privacy and I’ll be looking to see if they do when I make my voting decision.
Are you personally concerned about your personal data being compromised, or wish that you could know it’s being properly stored and safeguarded? I sure am.
Our current rules mean that political parties are operating as though there are no laws or oversight governing how they collect, use or store our data – and no requirements for disclosure if sensitive political information has been hacked or breached. Furthermore, the data that political parties hold on us, like political affiliation, voting intention, donation history and demographic information, is obviously particularly sensitive. Of course, I believe that politicians shouldn’t exempt themselves from the same privacy laws they make companies follow.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Strengthening privacy laws should be an election issue
Canada’s political parties must be made subject to federal privacy laws in order to protect our privacy and build trust in our democratic processes. Our privacy, our democracy and our electoral process are at risk due to outdated privacy laws that fail to properly protect people in Canada. Political parties should be made subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Eric Boucher, Nanaimo
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.