The lack of transparency of Éric Caire’s ministry is blocking his digital identity project for citizens. He is unable to guarantee to the Information Access Commission that he will respect the protection of personal data.
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Minister Éric Caire’s flagship project is in trouble. Its Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital (MCN) is said to be at war with the Information Access Commission (CAI) for the application of the digital identity project.
The CAI refused to approve the enhancement of ClicSÉQUR. This is the first milestone of the project and Éric Caire had promised that it would be commissioned from last June.
This first block should facilitate the delivery of government services for citizens and businesses. He was first to be deployed to the Ministry of the Family.
However, the CAI, which must ensure that this Quebec Digital Identity Service (SQIN) respects the law and protects the privacy of citizens, is dissatisfied with the governance framework submitted to it.
Lack of transparency
“The Commission stresses the importance of the body responsible for the project being transparent towards the public and assessing, from the earliest stages of the design of the project, its compliance with the legislation and the risks and impacts on the private life involved in the different blocks of this project”, explained Emmanuelle Giraud, communication advisor at the CAI.
The commission would like this framework to be improved before giving its approval, which has not yet been done.
However, as early as December 2021, she had informed the ministry of all the elements that were to be included (see below).
When he was appointed Minister in January 2022, Minister Cairo had promised that the first part would be delivered last June.
Mr. Caire had even argued that it could be a “computer mess” if he did not keep his word. However, nothing was accessible in June.
Over the summer, in order to explain the delay, Minister Cairo had said he wanted to submit the project to the bug bounty program. This is a virtual space for friendly hackers to test government programs and find flaws in them.
“I’m not shy to say that we deliver and that we deliver, not badly, on time,” he told our Parliamentary Office, adding: “it’s for the month of August, before the country [électorale] “.
Compliance
However, the service is still not accessible.
“It was agreed between the President of the Commission and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of close collaboration between the two organizations in order to meet the requirements of the Commission”, assures Patrick Morency of public affairs at the CMN, noting that the government received by decree the role of approving this project.
A first delivery of the SQIN is now scheduled for the fall of 2022, pleads the ministry. For the moment, Quebec has spent $18.7 million on this project.
What the Commission wants to approve:
- The Ministry’s Privacy Impact Assessment
- The rules established by the department that govern its governance with respect to personal information
*These rules must provide the framework applicable to the retention and destruction of personal information, the roles and responsibilities of public body personnel with respect to this information throughout its life cycle and a process for dealing with complaints relating to their protection.
CAUTION
“ The numerous privacy incidents, frauds and identity thefts demonstrate the importance of creating a reliable digital identification system that protects citizens’ personal information. The government must demonstrate transparency at all stages of the implementation of the digital identity project by soliciting citizen participation, through broad consultations, as some provinces have done. »
Courtesy picture
Me Diane Poitras, President of the Commission d’accès à l’information.
– Me Diane Poitras, President of the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec
To following a joint resolution released on October 24 with privacy commissioners and ombudsmen
Council of Ministers: Loss of power
Before the creation of the new Council of Ministers, sources had affirmed that Minister Éric Caire was unable “to deliver the goods”, giving the example of the first milestone of digital identity, namely the modernization of clicSÉQUR blocked for legal reasons. by the Information Access Commission.
When the new Council of Ministers was appointed, Mr. Caire kept his position as head of the Ministry of Cybersecurity, but lost responsibility for access to information and the protection of personal data. Jean-François Roberge succeeded him.