Many Canadians are cautious or apprehensive about a federal proposal to create the largest electronic database of personal information in the nation's history.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, in-house research conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency, fewer than half of the surveyed tax filers expressed trust in the Agency's ability to keep their data securely.“Canadians connected to the workforce are much more likely to be very or somewhat concerned about having their payroll, employment or demographic information stored in a single system operated by the government,” said an Agency report ePayroll Public Opinion Research. Few people, “just 7%” said they’d heard of the proposal.In the 2021 budget, the cabinet budgeted $43.9 million for a three-year research project focused on ePayroll. This initiative involves creating a centralized database that contains payroll and taxpayer information. This database would be accessible on a need-to-know basis by various federal departments and agencies.Currently, federal taxes are filed by 29.3 million individuals and 2.5 million corporations. These records have a range of personal information, such as names, addresses, marital status, medical status, parenting status, and other details.Asked if they agreed with the statement, “I would want my employer to get my consent before they share my information with the Government of Canada,” 80% agreed. Asked if they agreed with the statement, “I trust the Government of Canada to keep my personal information secure,” only 43% agreed.“Negatives that came to mind most often for participants had to do with data security, for example, potential breaches and privacy issues,” wrote researchers. “They raised questions about the exchange of information between employers and the government, as well as the accessibility and control of data.”The findings came from questionnaires given to 1,717 individuals nationwide and from conducting focus groups in multiple locations, including Vancouver, Yellowknife, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Moncton, and Halifax. Nanos Research received $200,111 for conducting this study.As of Monday, the Revenue Agency has not disclosed the final budget for the program.“Our vision for ePayroll in Canada is a service through which Canadian employers can securely send payroll, employment and demographic information to a protected Government of Canada repository,” the Agency said in a statement. “Government departments and agencies could then access the information when they need it.”The National Payroll Institute, in a 2021 ePayroll Policy Brief, said the proposal presented obvious difficulties as “one of the most complex technology projects ever undertaken by the government.” Privacy was crucial given “the sensitive nature of the information,” said the Institute.“The scope and scale of the ePayroll project are massive,” said the Policy Brief. “It would impact every employer and every worker in Canada.”“The sheer volume of data would be enormous, roughly equivalent to the amount of information submitted at year-end being received every two weeks,” said the Payroll Institute. “Public buy-in is essential.”
