Quebec takes away the bite from our data watchdog: 20 positions affected

Quebec has abolished 20 positions at the Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI), as confidentiality incidents explode, Le Journal has confirmed .

• Also read: It will be more difficult than before to know if our data has been hacked

• Also read: Data leaks: despite 531 incidents, the watchdog has not issued any fines yet

In total, around twenty positions will not be filled, or 20% of its workforce.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the head of surveillance has gone to work elsewhere and this role is de facto among those that will not be filled.

At a time when the application of Law 25, which is supposed to protect Quebecers' data, requires an enormous amount of work, this is a serious blow to access to information.

The CAI must in particular monitor the use of personal health data.

"Reduce bureaucracy"

During the day, on the Radio-Canada program Tout un matin , the Minister responsible for Access to Information, Jean-François Roberge, justified his decision.

"It's part of the operation to reduce staff numbers in the civil service and reduce bureaucracy, but for the CAI, these are positions that are not being filled," he told Patrick Masbourian.

"Eliminating unfilled positions is very different from cutting a workforce," he said.

At the end of May, Le Journal reported that it would be more difficult to know whether our data had been hacked because the CAI would no longer publish its list of confidentiality incidents.

No fine has yet been imposed by the CAI following a criminal offense.