Privacy watchdog investigates breach in residential school survivors’ claim
By Susana Mas
CBC News: March 27, 2014
Canada’s privacy watchdog is investigating a possible breach of personal information belonging to residential school survivors, after an adjudicator working for the agency handling their compensation claims filed a police report citing blackmail.
The Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat is the administrative body that manages the claims made by residential school survivors. It is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal established in 2007 under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Indian residential school survivors can seek compensation for suffering “sexual or serious physical abuse or another wrongful act” through an independent assessment process managed by the agency.
A spokesperson for the agency told CBC News on Wednesday that “an individual contacted the Secretariat earlier this month” claiming to have information relating to claims made by residential school survivors.
“We have not determined if he actually has any confidential information,” said Michael Tansey, a senior communications officer with the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, in an email to CBC News on Wednesday.
“The adjudicator has made a report to the police, and indicated that blackmail was involved.”
The adjudicator, whose identity Tansey said can not be made public, is on a leave of absence for an undetermined period of time.
(Read the full story at CBC)