Citizens of BC have been left surprised by the sudden upheaval regarding BC United and the Conservative Party of BC. While attention is focused on the consequences for the broader political landscape, crucial questions arise about voters’ privacy rights.
Political parties are permitted – indeed, expected – to collect personal information about voters, members, donors, and volunteers, subject to applicable laws. But what happens to that information when political parties transform or combine?
To sort through the uncertainty around the transfer of personal information between political parties, FIPA sought to find answers. BC privacy laws do apply to political parties, as highlighted in our recently launched resource, Your Political Privacy. To clarify how exactly these laws apply, FIPA retained Fasken LLP to provide a legal opinion on this issue. The following resource includes FIPA’s plain language summary of the opinion and the full text of the opinion.
We note that all political parties are required to publish and adhere to a privacy policy, have received Guidance from the OIPC, and have a voluntary Code of Practice. We remind them that, given the current dynamics, these commitments are as important as ever.
Members of the public who have concerns about the collection, use, disclosure, or general handling of their personal information, should stand up for their rights and make a complaint to the OIPC.
We want to thank Samantha Delechantos from Fasken for her opinion and our legal researchers for their review.
Surname, Given name(s,) Date of birth, Residential address,
Mailing address, Email address, Phone number
Other Information about the Individual
Sex, Ethnicity, Age, Language(s),
Religion, Income, Education, Familial relations
Family or marital status, Profession, Workplace name, Job title
Profession status (e.g. practicing or nonpracticing), Number of years at residential address, Neighbourhood demographics, Issues of interest to the individual
Political support tier /score, Ease of persuasion tier / score, Do not call or Do not contact notices, LinkedIn ID, Twitter ID, Facebook ID, Skype ID
Party Participation Data
Party membership status, Type of membership, Prospective member, Volunteer status,
Volunteer availability, Interest in a lawn sign, Donor status (monthly, one-time), Donation amount,
Date of donation, Previous election support level, If the individual subscribes to communications, What communications were sent and when,
Internal working group membership,
Financial Information
Personal cheque or credit card number, Name as shown on credit card, Card expiry, Signature
Election BC Data (Voters List / Voter participation data)
Electoral district, Electoral District Code, Voting area code, Previous or current election voter number
Voting card number, Federal riding, Party’s share of votes in an individual’s riding, Voting location
Municipal District, If the individual has voted in the current election, If/when the individual voted in the last election (advanced v. general voting day)
Will all this information automatically lawfully transfer between the BC United to Conservative Party of BC?
No.
Will my consent be needed if my personal information is transferred between BC United and Conservative Party of BC?
It depends on the nature of the information.
The voter file is available to all candidates and parties from Elections BC.
For most of the public, the largest amount of personal information BC United holds is likely appended to the voter file through phone, foot, or electronic canvassing. Transferring that information to the Conservative Party of BC would require your consent.
For those individuals who were BC United employees, customers, directors, officers and shareholders of the organization (This could include: members, donors, employees, candidates, volunteers, subscribers, sign locations, etc) your personal information could qualify as transferable as part of a business transaction between BC United and Conservative Party of BC. That means it could be transferred without consent; however, you would need to be notified of the transfer of this information between BC United and Conservative Party of BC.
How do I ensure my personal information is protected by political parties in BC?
You can request political parties to provide you with access to your personal information under their control.
You can request a correction to an error in the personal information they hold about you.
You can withdraw consent from the party or candidate to collect, use or disclose your information.
You can write to each party and make the same request. We’ve included contact information below.
You can restrict the information a party or candidate receives from Elections BC.
You can make a donation to support our law reform efforts as we fight to ensure privacy laws continue to apply to political parties.
How do I ensure my personal information is protected by political parties in BC?
You have the right to file a complaint to the OIPC about privacy concerns and Elections BC on election matters.
4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following third parties. We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:
Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our entity to another entity.
There are lots of ways to work with us or act as an Academic Advisor. We are always open to making our research results better so be sure to provide any feedback and constructive criticism regarding this publication to FIPA at fipa.bc.ca .
