PS to fight credit checks
Security policy could include fingerprinting
Unions representing federal public servants are up in arms over the government’s plans to do credit checks of new and current public servants as part of its revamped security clearance screening process.
In an email, Treasury Board spokeswoman Lisa Murphy confirmed that mandatory credit checks are part of the government’s new standard on security screening that came into effect last Oct. 20.
“An assessment of the trustworthiness and reliability of all individuals accessing sensitive information and/or assets must be undertaken to protect the interests and security of the government of Canada,” Murphy said.
“A credit check will be reviewed as part of that assessment, in addition to other information to assist in assessing an individual’s reliability and trustworthiness.”
That other information could include fingerprints. A criminal record check is part of the new assessment and “may include an RCMP requirement to obtain the individual’s fingerprints if deemed necessary by the functions of the position,” Murphy said.
According to one source, who likened the new screening policy to a “gun registry for public servants,” RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson sent a letter in January to all government departments and agencies informing officials that all future security checks will require fingerprinting.
The RCMP did not respond to Citizen questions about Paulson’s letter.
The new security screening measures were adopted at a time of heightened security concern. By coincidence, they came into effect the same day that Martin Couture-Rouleau ran down and killed Canadian soldier Patrice Vincent and two days before Michael Zihaf-Bibeau stormed Parliament Hill after killing a sentry at the National War Memorial.
The new policy has alarmed the two main unions that represent federal public servants: the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
PSAC president Robyn Benson issued a statement expressing concern that the credit checks “will be an unwarranted gross violation of personal privacy” that could put people’s livelihoods in jeopardy without cause.
“We are also fearful that the policy could be applied in an arbitrary way,” Benson said.
Meanwhile, PIPSC president Debi Daviau said her union is very concerned about the “invasive nature” of the government’s new security policy.
“The fingerprinting of employees who haven’t any criminal record is particularly troubling and, given this government’s addiction to the outsourcing of IT services, a major privacy breach waiting to happen,” Daviau said in an interview. “How does the government propose to protect the private information of its own employees?”
PIPSC has filed six policy grievances on behalf of different employee groups it represents in response to the new screening procedures. The grievances allege the new procedures will result in an “impermissible breach of privacy” in violation of collective agreement clauses that oblige the employer to respect the Privacy Act and Section Seven of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
PIPSC is also grieving the failure of the employer to consult the union before introducing and implementing the new screening standard.
It wants the standard revoked until proper consultation takes place and is seeking an order prohibiting the reintroduction of any elements that are determined to be “overly privacy invasive.”
The new screening standard replaces a policy that had been in effect for more than two decades. Administered by Treasury Board, it applies to new hires by virtually all federal departments and agencies as well as current employees whose security status changes or is renewed.
Treasury Board’s Murphy said the new policy standardizes security screening processes across all departments and agencies to ensure “consistent and fair screening practices.”
She said the information gathered during security screenings will be protected by the provisions of the Privacy Act, which lays out how federal departments and agencies should handle personal information. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees compliance with the act.
The new policy says security screening is “a fundamental practice that establishes and maintains a foundation of trust within government, between government and Canadians, and between Canada and other countries.” A valid security status or security clearance is a condition of employment with the federal government.
One of the screening activities described in the policy is “financial inquiry,” done to assess whether an individual poses a security risk “on the basis of financial pressure or history of poor financial responsibility.”
It says financial inquiries include, as a minimum, a full consumer credit report from a credit reporting agency, providing information on an individual’s credit history, liens, judgments and bankruptcy. It does not include a credit score, the policy says.
As part of the screening process, the RCMP is responsible for maintaining a national repository of criminal history records and using it to see whether an individual has a criminal record. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is responsible for conducting appraisals of reliability and loyalty to Canada.
The new policy says personal information collected on security screening forms will be disclosed to security-screening service providers in government, such as the RCMP and CSIS, and some outside government, such as credit bureaus, “in order for the verifications, inquiries and assessments required for security screening to be conducted.”
The policy lays out three different levels of security screening.
One is reliability status screening, which must be conducted for everyone employed by or working in federal departments and agencies. Enhanced screening is required for those with reliability status who perform security and intelligence functions or duties that support those functions.
Another is secret clearance, which builds on reliability status screening and is conducted for positions requiring frequent and unsupervised access to government information, assets, facilities or IT systems categorized as secret.
The third, top secret clearance, is reserved for those with frequent and unsupervised access to top secret information, assets, facilities or IT systems.
Screening for reliability status and secret clearance must be renewed every 10 years. For top secret clearance, renewal is necessary every five years. Those who work for companies that win government contracts also need to undergo screening to obtain site access clearance, which can be valid for up to 10 years.
While those applying for security clearance must provide consent for the collection and disclosure of their personal information, those who refuse would likely lose their security status or clearance, which could result in termination of employment or cancellation of a contract.