zombola
03-04-2015, 01:04 PM
TORONTO -- The privacy of hundreds of social assistance recipients was violated by Ontario's new problem-plagued computer system, NDP MPP Cindy Forster says.
Forster said she and others have long warned the government that the Social Assistance Management System (SAMS) wasn't ready for prime time.
"So now we have a privacy issue for 700 of the most vulnerable people in this province," Forster said Monday. "These are people who do not have the legal means to even address that their privacy has been breached."
Officials with the Ministry of Community and Social Services announced Monday that 720 T-5 tax forms for recipients of Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSB) were sent in error to a previous trustee.
"The Ministry of Community and Social Services takes every effort to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all information within our custody," director Jeff Bowen said in a memo to Ontario Works administrators.
"We have made necessary changes for future T-5s and are reviewing our procedures to ensure this situation will not reoccur and continue to increase system testing and validation."
Ministry officials note the system managed to deliver more than 652,000 T-5s to the right place, but in a tiny percentage of cases "old data" was pulled from SAMS.
cbc.ca
Forster said she and others have long warned the government that the Social Assistance Management System (SAMS) wasn't ready for prime time.
"So now we have a privacy issue for 700 of the most vulnerable people in this province," Forster said Monday. "These are people who do not have the legal means to even address that their privacy has been breached."
Officials with the Ministry of Community and Social Services announced Monday that 720 T-5 tax forms for recipients of Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSB) were sent in error to a previous trustee.
"The Ministry of Community and Social Services takes every effort to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all information within our custody," director Jeff Bowen said in a memo to Ontario Works administrators.
"We have made necessary changes for future T-5s and are reviewing our procedures to ensure this situation will not reoccur and continue to increase system testing and validation."
Ministry officials note the system managed to deliver more than 652,000 T-5s to the right place, but in a tiny percentage of cases "old data" was pulled from SAMS.
cbc.ca