Three hours after a
legislative committee was warned of the dangers of privatizing
ServiceOntario, a security breach forced the shutdown of
privately-operated kiosks.
The Ontario Public Service
Employees Union is battling to stop the Ontario government from
selling off the entire ServiceOntario network.
OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas told budget hearings on
Wednesday evening that the Liberal government must scrap the
portion of its budget legislation that will privatize
ServiceOntario. Thomas was joined by prominent Toronto lawyer
Paul Cavalluzzo who warned of significant risks to security of
personal information if a U.S. corporation or its subsidiary is
allowed to buy ServiceOntario.
“The Liberals can’t claim
ignorance here,” said Thomas. “They know or ought to know the
risks of turning Ontarians’ personal information over to the
private sector. And for what? ServiceOntario makes billions of
dollars. Why would we give that away?”
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