Details shared on Liberals’ Wylie project
OTTAWA — Federal Liberals have shared details about a $100,000 pilot project undertaken for their caucus research bureau by the data scientist from Victoria who triggered an international uproar with allegations that Facebook users’ data was inappropriately harvested for political gain.
After the Canadian Press revealed Chris Wylie was contracted by the Liberals in early 2016, the party released more information Wednesday about the short-lived agreement — and they insist that after seeing a sample of his services, they decided not to move forward.
The issue emerged as a dominant theme during question period in the House of Commons, where political rivals repeatedly questioned the government on the contract and the issue of protecting online privacy.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer led off by demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explain Wylie’s exact role with the Liberal government.
“Protecting the personal and privacy information of Canadians should be a top priority for government,” said Scheer, who noted how Wylie had also worked for previous Liberal leaders about a decade ago.
“Yet the prime minister has failed to be honest with Canadians about the Liberal party’s relationship with an individual who has exploited the private information of millions of people around the world.”
Speaking about the issue in Toronto, Trudeau told reporters that all politicians need to make sure they’re using modern digital tools in a responsible and appropriate way that respects privacy of citizens and provides information so they can make better choices at the ballot box.
“That’s something that I’ve actually asked our minister of democratic institutions to lean in on and to develop tools to protect both Canadians and our electoral processes.”
Shortly before question period, the Liberals issued a statement saying Wylie’s company, Eunoia Technologies, conducted preliminary work for the caucus research bureau at a cost of $100,000 in a contract done in accordance with House of Commons procurement rules.
The statement by the bureau’s managing director, Melissa Cotton, said Wylie’s firm was contracted for several purposes, such as setting up social-media monitoring tools and the creation of samples of Canadians to help the party better understand the public’s opinions on government policies and other issues of national importance.
The Canadian Press spoke with an acquaintance of Wylie’s who described having drinks with the data expert in Ottawa in November 2015, a few weeks after the federal election.
The acquaintance said Wylie talked about his plans to shop his Facebook data-mining techniques in the national capital, including with the Liberals and also in Washington with the Republican party.
Wylie described using a Facebook survey as an entry point to collect user data and the pair discussed the ethical concerns surrounding the method, the acquaintance said.