RCMP Watch

Ottawa (Canadian Press) - Canada’s privacy watchdog has uncovered numerous problems with secret RCMP data banks that hold sensitive information about Canadians.

In a special report to Parliament, Jennifer Stoddart suggests two data banks operated by the Mounties have become uncontrolled hiding places for personal information.

The RCMP has two so-called exempt banks, one containing criminal intelligence records, another with records about national security investigations.

Government departments and agencies which control exempt records can refuse to confirm or deny the existence of the information when someone asks to see it.

Stoddart says people could become the subject of an exempt bank file as a result of information passed on by a neighbour, by talking to the wrong person, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But the commissioner found more than half of the national security files and 60 per cent of the criminal intelligence files should not have been held indefinitely in the special banks.

The RCMP accepted Stoddart’s recommendations for improvement.

This is the first time she has used her powers under the Privacy Act to issue a special report to Parliament.