Protecting Personal Information : The CAQ Refuses to Respond to Quebecers’ Concerns

The data breaches that occurred at Desjardins and Capital One this summer have underscored the urgent need to protect Quebecers’ personal information. The Official Opposition condemns the government’s unwillingness to listen to experts who could help establish solutions to ensure data security.

This morning during a lightning speed meeting of just 30 minutes, the government refused to discuss the possibility of expanding the mandate initiative on the personal data leak affecting Desjardins’ members. This scope of this phenomenon impacts more than a single banking institution, the Official Opposition decried.

Indeed, all the opposition parties agreed to widen the scope of the mandate in order to hear from all relevant experts. The government’s ability to protect data and consumer protection, among others, should be included in this process.

MNAs Carlos J. Leitão, Gaétan Barrette, Lise Thériault and Marwah Rizqy who were part of this morning’s meeting, have asked the President of the Finance Committee to quickly convene another working session to continue talks on the mandate.

It is extremely disappointing to see the CAQ politicize the crucial issue of protecting personal privacy by refusing to extend the committee’s mandate today. We would like the members to reconvene as quickly as possible so that we can move forward as, thanks to the government’s stubbornness, we are still stuck at square one.

–Carlos J. Leitão, MNA representing Robert-Baldwin and Liberal Critic for Finance

Citizens’ concerns about the protection of their personal information extends far beyond the events at Desjardins this summer. The party that forms the government tried to sweep the issue under the rug by choosing to treat it as a stand-alone issue, rather than taking citizens’ concerns into consideration.

–Gaétan Barrette, MNA representing La Pinière and Liberal Critic for Transport and the Conseil du Trésor

Banks are not the only institutions Quebecers provide with their personal information. The least the government can do is agree to explore a wider mandate because we need to work together to find solutions to better protect consumers and avoid further data breaches.

–Lise Thériault, MNA representing d’Anjou–Louis-Riel and Liberal Critic for Housing and Consumer Protection

Today, the population expects that parliamentarians are examining ways to protect personal information. This process must be undertaken in complete transparency and to do this the government must be willing to expand the mandate and hear from all of the relevant experts, so that we can better understand the situation and ultimately better respond to Quebecers’ concerns.

–Marwah Rizqy, MNA representing Saint-Laurent and Liberal Critic for Education, Higher Education and the Digital Strategy