Majority of Canadians Distrust Federal Proposal for Electronic Database of Payroll Info: Report

The largest concern shared by participants across all consultation sessions revolved around security and the privacy of personal information, the report said.

The Canada Revenue Agency building is seen in Ottawa on April 6, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Fewer than half of Canadian taxpayers trust a federal proposal to build the biggest electronic database of personal information in the country’s history, according to research by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

“Canadians connected to the workforce are much more likely to be very or somewhat concerned about having their payroll, employment or demographic information stored in a single system operated by the government,” said an agency report “ePayroll Public Opinion Research,” first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Only seven percent of people surveyed said they’d heard of the proposal, according to findings by Nanos Research, which was paid $200,111 to perform the study.

The federal government in 2021 budgeted $43.9 million for three years’ worth of research into ePayroll, a centralized database of payroll and taxpayer information accessible on a need-to-know basis by federal departments and agencies.

Currently, 29.3 million individuals and 2.5 million corporations file federal taxes in Canada, with records including information like names and addresses, as well as marital, medical, and parental status.

The largest concern shared by participants across all consultation sessions revolved around security and the privacy of personal information, the report said. Participants also noted that a single database that collects and stores tax, employment, and demographic data could be a lucrative target for potential attackers.

When asked if they agreed with the statement, “I would want my employer to get my consent before they share my information with the Government of Canada,” 80 percent of respondents agreed. When presented with the statement, “I trust the Government of Canada to keep my personal information secure,” only 43 percent agreed.

“Negatives that came to mind most often for participants had to do with data security, for example, potential breaches and privacy issues,” wrote researchers. “They raised questions about the exchange of information between employers and the government, as well as the accessibility and control of data.”

The findings of the survey were taken from questionnaires with 1,717 people nationwide as well as from focus groups in Vancouver, Yellowknife, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Moncton, and Halifax.

The CRA has yet to disclose any final budget for the program. “Our vision for ePayroll in Canada is a service through which Canadian employers can securely send payroll, employment and demographic information to a protected Government of Canada repository,” the agency said in a statement. “Government departments and agencies could then access the information when they need it.”

The National Payroll Institute, in a 2021 “ePayroll Policy Brief,“ said the proposal presented obvious difficulties, being “one of the most complex technology projects ever undertaken by the government.” It said privacy would be crucial given “the sensitive nature of the information.”

“The sheer volume of data would be enormous, roughly equivalent to the amount of information submitted at year-end being received every two weeks,” said the Payroll Institute. “Public buy-in is essential.”