On February 20, 2019, Élections Québec published a report that aimed to shed light on issues related to the protection of personal information held by political parties.
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In Quebec, personal information is protected by legislation that applies to private companies, ministries, and public agencies. Currently, political parties are not subject to these laws. Furthermore, the Elections Act does not clearly specify the purposes for which parties may use the personal information they hold.
In addition, we note that political parties constitute databases containing personal information. We are concerned about the lack of oversight on these practices.
Political parties should be subject to privacy legislation.
Élections Québec should send the list of electors to political parties only once a year, outside an election year, with the sex and date of birth of electors removed.
The National Assembly should mandate a special committee to study these issues.
Technologies are evolving, as are the challenges surrounding the protection of personal information. Laws must evolve to reflect these new realities. Our recommendations are meant to provide the basis for a broader reflection on the oversight of political parties with respect to the protection of personal information.
To view all our recommendations:
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