Ottawa is moving ahead with a pilot project to collect real-time payroll information from more than 21 million Canadian workers, in what critics are calling the biggest federal data initiative ever attempted.
Blacklock's Reporter says the ePayroll system would centralize employment and demographic data from nearly every employer in the country — yet no parliamentary committee has reviewed its scope, cost, or privacy implications.
A budget note said the Department of Employment will receive funding “to launch a pilot project to assess whether Employment Insurance eligibility and entitlement can be determined accurately and securely using real-time payroll information.”
The total cost was not disclosed, but research so far has already cost $43.9 million.
The department said the ePayroll program would eventually allow federal agencies to “securely send payroll, employment and demographic information to a protected Government of Canada repository.”
The idea is to streamline reporting for employers, simplify Employment Insurance processing, and reduce duplication across departments.
But privacy concerns are already front and centre. Internal polling by the in 2023 found widespread distrust of the plan.
In the ePayroll Public Opinion Research report, 80% of respondents said employers should be required to get their consent before sharing payroll data with the federal government, and only 43% said they trust Ottawa to keep their personal information secure.
“Negatives that came to mind most often for participants had to do with data security, for example potential breaches and privacy issues,” the report said.
Canadians questioned how the government would protect the information, who could access it, and how long it would be stored.
The National Payroll Institute warned in a 2021 policy brief that the project could become “one of the most complex technology projects ever undertaken by the government.”
It said the “scope and scale of the ePayroll project are massive,” impacting every employer and employee in the country.
“The sheer volume of data would be enormous, roughly equivalent to the amount of information submitted at year-end being received every two weeks,” the Institute wrote.
It added that “public buy-in is essential” if the government hopes to implement the plan successfully.
Despite the growing concerns, Ottawa appears ready to press forward with the pilot. If fully launched, ePayroll would give federal departments near real-time access to workers’ income and employment data — a move that privacy advocates warn could blur the line between efficient administration and government overreach.
