How much do you want the Government of Canada knowing about you?Trick question, really. They already know enough to block your bank account, so what’s left for them to know, that matters any more than that?Nevertheless, the Canada Revenue Agency wants to build a massive payroll database to file everything they know about you. So, names, addresses, marital status, medical status, parenting status…. The list goes on. If built (and you know it will be) it will be the largest electronic aggregation of personal information that this country has ever attempted.And perhaps out of genuine concern — or more likely as I cynically presume, just covering their bases — the CRA commissioned a survey to see what people thought.The result was ePayroll Public Opinion Research, a 73-page document that you can examine here. If you haven’t heard about any of this, be gentle with yourself: Only 7% of Canadians ever did.Knowing the details doesn’t inspire confidence, however. As the document states, “Canadians connected to the workforce are much more likely to be very or somewhat concerned (45%) about having their payroll, employment or demographic information stored in a single system operated by the Government.”There are two possible reasons why so many folks are not keen.First, the Government of Canada isn’t very good at this kind of thing. Nevertheless, the people who brought you the ArriveCan debacle and the Phoenix pay system — which was supposed to save $70 million a year but has so far cost $3.5 billion — these people would now like to build this all-knowing, all-assimilating Borg-like entity that with one touch of a button will tell the duly authorised civil servant your whole life in numbers.Or, anybody else who hacks the system. It happens. Again, and again.As reported elsewhere, “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.”So, even if this was a good thing to do, are these the people you want doing it? (Some may say that’s a cheap shot. Well, it’s a shot. But $3.5 billion is not cheap.)But the reverse is the second point: Even if the boffins in Ottawa can make it work, is this a good thing to be doing?As mentioned last week, powers and capabilities are taken by governments to achieve reasonable and supportable goals. Often however, they are also suborned by governments for goals that are neither reasonable nor widely supported, but that do serve a government’s (as opposed to a country’s) needs.For years to come, the proof case in Canada will be the federal government’s use of the Emergencies [War Measures] Act, intended to give Ottawa special powers in time of war or the threat of war, to crush a civil disturbance. Not that the civil disturbance was insignificant. But, there was no war. The Trudeau Liberals just didn’t want to talk to truckers.And so, when one entrusts power to governments, one always has to imagine how it could be abused.Many Canadians would be surprised and possibly alarmed to realise how far governments, banks, credit card companies and large corporations have come, in their efforts to produce a system of digital ID to simultaneously be your driver's licence, your bank card and your access to government services. For now, it’s admittedly convenient. Could there be something to worry about however, when access to your personal information — and perhaps your digital currency, because that’s in the works as well — is available only through one gateway?People intending to take the Government of Canada’s advice and electrify their lives with EVs and heat pumps, should take note Germany has the ability to direct electricity for approved uses and deny it to others — among them charging EVs and running heat pumps.This is old news in China, where one of the advantages of staying in the diplomatic quarter of Beijing is that you can control your own thermostat. In the rest of the city, it’s controlled centrally and the heat is cut back at the end of March. This sounds un-free, and it is. There were however reasons why people thought it was a good idea — once. It’s just what happens later.Bottom line for Canadians?First, make it your issue. Not all politicians are deaf. Some don’t care much for government control themselves. Support them.Canadians need to slow down these trends, work with them for a while and just make sure governments can be trusted with this much capability. Perhaps they can: this isn't North Korea.But second, know what’s going on: Seven percent awareness is not enough. Third, care a hundred percent.
How much do you want the Government of Canada knowing about you?Trick question, really. They already know enough to block your bank account, so what’s left for them to know, that matters any more than that?Nevertheless, the Canada Revenue Agency wants to build a massive payroll database to file everything they know about you. So, names, addresses, marital status, medical status, parenting status…. The list goes on. If built (and you know it will be) it will be the largest electronic aggregation of personal information that this country has ever attempted.And perhaps out of genuine concern — or more likely as I cynically presume, just covering their bases — the CRA commissioned a survey to see what people thought.The result was ePayroll Public Opinion Research, a 73-page document that you can examine here. If you haven’t heard about any of this, be gentle with yourself: Only 7% of Canadians ever did.Knowing the details doesn’t inspire confidence, however. As the document states, “Canadians connected to the workforce are much more likely to be very or somewhat concerned (45%) about having their payroll, employment or demographic information stored in a single system operated by the Government.”There are two possible reasons why so many folks are not keen.First, the Government of Canada isn’t very good at this kind of thing. Nevertheless, the people who brought you the ArriveCan debacle and the Phoenix pay system — which was supposed to save $70 million a year but has so far cost $3.5 billion — these people would now like to build this all-knowing, all-assimilating Borg-like entity that with one touch of a button will tell the duly authorised civil servant your whole life in numbers.Or, anybody else who hacks the system. It happens. Again, and again.As reported elsewhere, “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.”So, even if this was a good thing to do, are these the people you want doing it? (Some may say that’s a cheap shot. Well, it’s a shot. But $3.5 billion is not cheap.)But the reverse is the second point: Even if the boffins in Ottawa can make it work, is this a good thing to be doing?As mentioned last week, powers and capabilities are taken by governments to achieve reasonable and supportable goals. Often however, they are also suborned by governments for goals that are neither reasonable nor widely supported, but that do serve a government’s (as opposed to a country’s) needs.For years to come, the proof case in Canada will be the federal government’s use of the Emergencies [War Measures] Act, intended to give Ottawa special powers in time of war or the threat of war, to crush a civil disturbance. Not that the civil disturbance was insignificant. But, there was no war. The Trudeau Liberals just didn’t want to talk to truckers.And so, when one entrusts power to governments, one always has to imagine how it could be abused.Many Canadians would be surprised and possibly alarmed to realise how far governments, banks, credit card companies and large corporations have come, in their efforts to produce a system of digital ID to simultaneously be your driver's licence, your bank card and your access to government services. For now, it’s admittedly convenient. Could there be something to worry about however, when access to your personal information — and perhaps your digital currency, because that’s in the works as well — is available only through one gateway?People intending to take the Government of Canada’s advice and electrify their lives with EVs and heat pumps, should take note Germany has the ability to direct electricity for approved uses and deny it to others — among them charging EVs and running heat pumps.This is old news in China, where one of the advantages of staying in the diplomatic quarter of Beijing is that you can control your own thermostat. In the rest of the city, it’s controlled centrally and the heat is cut back at the end of March. This sounds un-free, and it is. There were however reasons why people thought it was a good idea — once. It’s just what happens later.Bottom line for Canadians?First, make it your issue. Not all politicians are deaf. Some don’t care much for government control themselves. Support them.Canadians need to slow down these trends, work with them for a while and just make sure governments can be trusted with this much capability. Perhaps they can: this isn't North Korea.But second, know what’s going on: Seven percent awareness is not enough. Third, care a hundred percent.
