Hamilton mayor dismisses concerns police inappropriately accessed data as ‘irrational’

Hamilton's mayor, who is also the chair of the police services board, says he doesn't see a problem with police having access to a database containing citizens' COVID health information.

And he doesn't see why others do.

To get carried away on, This is now an infringement on people's rights' and ... that there's a desire to use this information against individuals in our community, I think is just irrational and inappropriate and wrong," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said in an interview with The Spectator on Thursday.

The Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) and privacy experts raised concerns this week about Hamilton police's access of a provincial database containing the names, addresses and dates of birth for people who tested positive for COVID-19. Police accessed the database more than 10,000 times over a three-month period - Hamilton had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases at the time. Some police forces, including Toronto police, never accessed it.

First responders were permitted database access by the province through an emergency order that ended July 22. Two days before that, and amid a lawsuit from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the province pulled access to the database.

HCCI and privacy experts question why police were allowed to access the database; how the data protected anyone since people not in the database could still have COVID; and why the need to protect police trumped citizens' right to keep their health data private. They also want to know if people whose data was accessed by police will be contacted.

The mayor says there is no cause for concern.

I don't see any circumstance where this kind of information used on a one-off and not stored is going to be used against anyone," Eisenberger said. And there are ... very stringent laws (regarding) maintaining the confidentiality and the privacy of personal information."

While he personally wasn't aware the province allowed police to access the database, Eisenberger said the news was publicly stated" by the province.

A provincial memo informing the Hamilton police services board of the database was also included in the agenda for the board's June 11 meeting. It was not discussed during the public portions of the meeting.

Coun. Chad Collins, a member of the police services board, said he also doesn't see an issue with police accessing the COVID database - it was a tool provided to them and they used it. As for concerns about police handling sensitive health information, he noted police are accustomed" to handling private data.

Obviously, they can look up (licence) plates, they can look up other information that the average person wouldn't have access to," Collins said.

People concerned with the powers granted to police should bring it up with the province, he said, adding there's no reason to think information was used inappropriately.

I don't know what the conspiracy theory is in terms of how this information might have been used," Collins said.

Arthur Schafer, director of University of Manitoba's Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, says privacy concerns in this case are real and a big deal."

Health information is among the most intimate information about us that exists and confidentiality of health records and health information is a fundamental principle of medical ethics," Schafer said.

Schafer said people must trust their health information - information that could be damaging if leaked or released publicly - is protected at all times. That trust gives them confidence to be open and honest with health-care providers. When trust is broken, effective delivery of health care is compromised, he said.

He notes police should be assuming everyone has COVID as not everyone shows symptoms or has tested positive.

It's very difficult to see why this special provision to violate medical confidentiality could be justified," Schafer said.

Meanwhile, it seems unlikely those whose data was accessed by Hamilton police will ever be informed.

All information has been purged by Hamilton police," said police spokesperson Jackie Penman when asked if people will be contacted. We have no records of the information accessed."

She added that police have no record of who accessed what information when. Only police communication operators and supervisors had access to the database, and they only accessed it when someone's COVID status was unclear during a call for service, Penman said.

A spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said the province enforced strict protocols" to limit access to this database. Only authorized users" who perform a communication and dispatch function were allowed to access it and only to allow first responders to take appropriate safety precautions to protect themselves and the communities they serve."

All information collected or used was subject to privacy laws, spokesperson Stephen Warner said. It was, however, up to police to set policies and procedures for how they used the database.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com