This Day In Snookland (ctd)...Maximus This!

HowMuchIsOurPrivacy
WorthVille


By my reckoning, thanks to the privatization schemes of both Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, the American data collection and processing firm Maximus is into us for a total of half a billion dollars.

At least.

But, again, why the rush to extend them for that extra 5 years and a few hundred million in the dying days of Snooklandia?

Well, according to the PAB-Bot generated government press release it was, at least in part, the following:

...The cost to renew the contract is $264.3 million. This includes the base services plus additional projects such as supporting PharmaNet modernization and the deployment of the new BC Services Card...


Now, in case you missed it, the reasons we need those 'all your information on the head of chip/pin' BC Services Cards is, according to one of the Snooklandian Minister' at least, non-quantifiable healthcare fraud that will end civilization as we know it.

Or some such codswalloparian thing.

But there's more to all this than that.

Because since 2004, and recently echoed by our Auditor General, there have been concerns about Maximus' ability to do what we it pay it to do as well as protect our personal data.

Now, regarding that last point...

The 'protecting our personal data' point, I mean...

A reader specifically asked our Information and Privacy Commissioner what assurances she could give her that, if she gets one of these new 'BC Services Cards' (which are going to cost us an additional $150 million by the way), her personal data will be protected.

Here is the non-answer, answer she received:

Dear XXXX

Thank you for your email.  As part of our mandate under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, our office is reviewing the BC Services Card Program.

We are proceeding with an eye to the legal authorities for sharing data, and the proposed systems architecture and security measures to protect citizens' personal information.  It is our intention to verify that the government is in fact building the system how they say they are building it, and that personal information is protected as the system is built.  We are working diligently to complete our review, at which point we will provide government and the public with an assessment of the BC Services Card.

If you have questions about how the program works, or would like to voice your concerns about the program, you may do this directly with the Government at www.bcservicescard.ca . The OIPC is not able to discuss the details of our review while it is underway. Our public statement will address the privacy and security aspects of the BC Services Card Program, and will be available on our website once our review is complete: www.oipc.bc.ca .

Regards,

OIPC

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

www.oipc.bc.ca

Feel better now, especially if you already have one of those things that holds everything about you on it going all the way back to before you were born?

****

Look.

There is no reason that all this stuff could not be done in-house by British Columbians paid by British Columbians who actually buy their stuff in British Columbia from other British Columbians.

In other words, the 'Golden Era' is over and Snooklandia soon will be too.

So...

Listen up, 'Wizards with out a Mandate'...Stop stealing all our jobs and treasure with all your privatization protection legacy projects..

Right now!

OK?


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