In The News: How Secure is Canadian Census Information?

On Thursday October 3, 2013, 89-year-old Audrey Tobias entered a Toronto Courtroom, faced with charges under the Statistics Act for refusing to complete the 2011 Canadian Census.  In a Toronto Star article, they cite Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer in the U.S.A, as her main reason for refusal.  Statistics Canada purchased software from the company in order to process 2006 and 2011 census information.  Tobias, who identifies as a peace activist, is concerned that the insecure statistical information in the U.S.A. will spread into Canada’s practices with this new business partnership. Additionally, Tobias does not want to participate in government activities with a company that disrupts her vision of peace through the building of weapons and bombs.

Until this point in history, the collection and security of Canada’s census information has not been heavily questioned because of the lack of government involvement.  In  Debra Thompson’s 2010 article, “The Politics of the Census: Lessons From Abroad,” which appeared in Canadian Public Policy, she affirms that “Statistics Canada has been internationally recognized as one of the best statistical agencies in the world because of its isolation from the political influence that has plagued the politics of the census in other countries.” Nations like the U.S.A. have a history of altering census information after it has been collected and not providing enough security, which to leads to various agencies having the ability to access and collect information.  However, in Canada, the government has no access to the data collected in the census; that power lies solely with Statistics Canada who have hired hackers to test out their security measures that protect the Canadian census data.

Audrey Tobias’ lawyer, Peter Rosenthal, plans to call a University of Toronto computer scientist to the stand who will “refute everything the census director says about their security.” Needless to say, whether our information is as safe as we are led to believe is about to be determined.