Groups worried about seniors' data being collected in private Quebec care homes

Three seniors groups are concerned about the data collection on seniors living in private long-term care homes by the Ministry of Health's Inspections Branch.

They are joining forces to demand that private residences for the elderly (RPAs) stop being obliged to provide the full name, date of birth and apartment number of their residents.

The Regroupement québécois des résidences pour aînés (RQRA), the Réseau FADOQ and the Réseau québécois des OSBL d'habitation (RQOH) want the Quebec Health Ministry's Direction des enquêtes, des évaluations et des inspections (DEEI) to explain why this information is necessary.

In a response from the DEEI to the RQRA, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press, the DEEI cites section 346.0.9 of the Act respecting health services and social services to justify that its inspectors are within their rights to demand such information on residents and that it is necessary to carry out their duties.

"We don't understand -- there may be a reason, but it's up to them to provide it -- why such valuable and sensitive information is being requested from RPAs," said RQRA director of government affairs Hans Brouillette. "For what purpose exactly? We haven't had that answer, and for us it's worrying."

The three groups point out that such information is not required for elderly people living in a house or apartment.

Government not complying with its own law

The inspectors are asking the RPAs to send them this personal information by email or by post.

Seniors' groups point out that the more information circulates, the greater the risk of fraud, especially as seniors are more often the victims.

"The increase in fraud and identity theft is a concern for our members, and the best way to avoid this kind of tragedy is to ensure that sensitive data circulates as little as possible," said Réseau FADOQ president Gisèle Tassé-Goodman in a news release.

"We're no longer in the age of unsecured email or paper," said Brouillette. "We're in the age of uploading confidential bank documents and other things to secure sites. When we see inspectors turning up at a home and starting to take photos of documents with a mobile phone, or simply asking to be emailed a list of names and precise dates of birth, we want to know why."

Brouillette also said that some RPA members of the RQRA had tried to protect their residents by failing to provide the information requested by the DEEI. He said that the offending residences received an initial statement of offence for more than $1,200.

Seniors' advocacy groups argue that the Health Ministry is going against its own guidelines, which aim to strengthen the protection of personal information.

RQOH executive director André Castonguay cites Bill 25, which strengthened the provisions for protecting the personal information of public bodies and the private sector.

While this law is opposed to the Act respecting health services and social services, which the government uses to justify its data collection, Castonguay called on public institutions to agree on which should prevail.

He explains that his members have made every effort to comply with the directives of Bill 25, but "at the moment, government officials are making requests that do not fall within the scope of the procedures set out in Bill 25. We condemn this approach," he said.

Brouillette agrees: "What the Ministry of Health is doing through the Investigations and Inspections Branch is unacceptable and unjustifiable, especially at a time when this same government and previous governments are tightening up the rules on the protection of personal information."

The groups acknowledged that these actions by the government are necessary, but the ministry should tighten up the digital security safeguards in its data collection.

"If a department needs to have its information, it should justify it," said Castonguay. "And it should be done with adequate safeguards so as not to endanger or disseminate personal information."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 4, 2024.

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