Nunavut privacy commissioner concerned over Canada Post changes in Iqaluit

Nunavut's information and privacy commissioner says he's concerned about "privacy risks" created by Canada Post's overhauling of Iqaluit's mail system.

In October, Canada Post changed the addressing system for the city's roughly 8,000 people, requiring residents to have mail goingto physical addresses, rather than post office boxes.

In letters sent to Nunavut's departments of finance, human resources, and family services, commissioner Graham Steele asked what privacy risk assessments have been done, and what steps the government has taken to take to mitigate the risk of sensitive mail going missing or being misdirected.

"By all accounts, both in the media and anecdotally, the switch-over is not going particularly well," Steele wrote to the three territorial governmentdepartments on Nov. 29.

"There appears to be substantial confusion and delay, and there appears to be more than the usual amount of mail that goes missing or ends up in the wrong hands."

And while Canada Post doesn't fall under Steele's purview, the government of Nunavut does.

"As Information and Privacy Commissioner, I am concerned about the privacy risk created by such a wholesale change of addresses," Steele wrote.

'Proactive probe'

The three departments Steele chose to write to have until Jan.17 to respond.

Some examples of sensitive mail coming from those offices would include pay and tax slips, income assistance and child welfare programs, and workplace matters.

In an interview with CBC News, Steele elaborated on what prompted him to write to the government, saying it was a "proactive probe" in response to his hearing of the troubles since Canada Post's addressing changes.

"I haven't even started a full investigation yet, but I want to get some information from some key government departments," Steele said, adding he hasn't received a formal complaint regarding a privacy breach.

"This addressing change probably represents a substantial risk of sensitive mail not getting to the right person, or getting into the hands of thewrong people. And I need the [Nunavut government]departments sending that mail to take a hard look at what's going on."

In a statement to CBC News, the government's communications director Casey Lessard said they're aware of the ongoing concerns and are working to determine which programs and services are affected.

"Our focus is on ensuring that government services remain accessible and reliable during this transition period," Lessard wrote.

"All departments are evaluating how this situation affects their mail interactions with Nunavummiut, and will make necessary adjustments to minimize service disruptions."

Lessard noted many governmentprograms and services have the option of receiving documents electronically, but the government still needs Canada Post to send potentially sensitive documents such as"health cards, driver's licences, birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as paper cheques for those who do not have bank accounts."

Canada Post did not respond to CBC'srequest forcomment on the privacy commissioner's concerns.