OTTAWA — The company overseeing the federal government’s $900-million settlement deal with military members who experienced sexual misconduct in uniform is admitting to more privacy breaches, despite repeated promises to have fixed the problem.
Epiq Class Action Services Canada confirmed the additional errors after a third veteran came forward to The Canadian Press to report having received an email containing the personal details of a different claimant earlier this month.
The veteran, who asked not to be identified because she still works for the federal government, said the information was contained in an attachment as she was fighting Epiq after the company sent her settlement cheque to the wrong address.
The Federal Court appointed Epiq to administer the settlement process after the government reached an agreement in November 2019 with plaintiffs in three overlapping class-action lawsuits dealing with sexual misconduct in the military.
“I feel betrayed and worried that my personal information has been sent to other members,” the veteran said. “I submitted over 180 pages of documents and I’m sick with worry that someone has my information. It’s victimizing all over.”
Epiq has previously said the inadvertently released information does not include testimonials and other such documents, but only claimants’ names, contact details and randomly generated claim numbers.
It has nonetheless apologized for the errors since the first was reported in March, and repeatedly promised that it was taking the appropriate disciplinary and procedural steps to ensure more claimants are not affected.
The leaks also prompted a panel of claimants, lawyers and government officials tasked with overseeing the settlement to order an independent audit of Epiq’s claims process to prevent further problems.
The company has since retained an external auditor to review and recommend changes to its procedures, Epiq vice-president Angela Hoidas said in an email, adding: “We sincerely regret these additional disclosures.
“While inadvertent human errors have affected a small fraction of the claims we have successfully administered in this class, we believe that any inadvertent error is unacceptable, and have already taken substantial steps to improve our policies and procedures.”
Lawyer Jonathan Ptak, who represents some of the veterans and active service members involved in the three lawsuits settled by the government, said the audit has started.
Yet neither Epiq’s promises to address the problem nor the decision to order an audit stopped the latest breach, which according to a statement on Epiq’s website brings the total number of claimants whose private information has been compromised to 109.
While Epiq has not revealed the total number of actual incidents in which a breach has occurred, Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said the company has reported 20 individual breaches since Feb. 8.
That includes 15 previously unreported incidents discovered by the company during an internal review in late February.
“National Defence takes the issue of privacy very seriously,” Lamirande said in an email. “We have requested that Epiq investigate and take steps to ensure that this matter is contained, resolved, and does not happen again.”
Nearly 20,000 people have applied for compensation as part of the class-action settlement.
Retired master corporal Amy Green and fellow veteran France Menard said they have not heard anything more from the company, government or law firms involved in the settlement since receiving private information about other claimants from Epiq earlier this year.
“It’s disappointing, that’s for sure,” Menard said. “They’re trying to put everything under the rug.”
The veteran who most recently received another claimant’s information said she and others had already been having problems with Epiq even before the privacy breaches, including incorrect information and settlement payments sent to the wrong addresses.
The information sent to Menard and Green consists of the names of individual claimants as well as their claim numbers, which can be used to submit documents through a secure link on the class-action website.
Hoidas has said such documents would then be reviewed by Epiq, and that individual files cannot be accessed, but Menard and Green say they are unsatisfied with Epiq’s response, particularly given the sensitive nature of the claims and settlement deal.
While the office of the privacy commissioner said in March that it was looking into the issue after receiving a privacy breach report from Epiq, spokesman Vito Pilieci said there was no update to the watchdog’s probe.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2022.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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New Brunswick Liberals win majority, Susan Holt first woman to lead province
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
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Premier-designate of New Brunswick, Susan Holt, is first woman to lead the province
