Statistics Canada is trying to gain access to the financial data of more than 500,000 Canadians, including your account balances, bill payments, and credit card transaction—all without your consent.¹

In fact, StatCan has already collected 15 years' worth of financial information on millions of us without our knowledge.

OpenMedia is fighting back to protect our privacy by flooding StatCan with requests for information on how our data has been used and shared.

StatCan is claiming that collecting this personal data is crucial to protecting the integrity of Canada's financial system.²

The agency used to collect the information voluntarily through surveys and diaries. But now it's decided to skip over our consent and go straight to the banks. And StatCan has given Parliament a full justification for this data collection—but it's using antiquated privacy laws written before the Internet existed.³

The risks of collecting such personal information into one giant database without being properly anonymized are immense. If the last year—with the Equifax breach, Cambridge Analytica Scandal, and the Air Canada leak—taught us anything, it's that there is no way to 100 percent secure massive databases of highly sensitive information.

That's why this StatCan scandal has made headlines—we know that it's just a matter of time before this financial information database is breached, and criminals will have their hands on our entire personal lives.

It's critical for Statistics Canada to have data about the actions of Canadians to help the government make informed policy decisions. But there are some easy steps we need the government to take to mitigate the risks to our sensitive data. It's time for Parliament to update our privacy laws for the Internet Age. No information should be collected on us without our consent, and it's about time that our laws reflected the times in which we live.

OpenMedia is helping to expose StatCan's data grab and reform our privacy laws. Will you chip in?

Laura, and the whole team at OpenMedia