OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Canada Post has been accused of breaking the law by collecting and sharing Canadian’s personal information based on who sends them packages. 

On September 20, the office of privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne announced that Canada Post, the Crown corporation which functions as the primary postal service in Canada, has been collecting confidential data for their marketing program, including where individuals live and what type of online shopping they do, according to The Canadian Press.   

Dufresne found that Canada Post had not received permission from Canadians to share or collect their information, meaning Canada Post has been violating Section 5 of the nation’s Privacy Act. 

The investigation was launched after a man received marketing material from a Toronto restaurant which included his name and full apartment address on the envelope, including the suite number. 

It was later discovered that the promotional material had been sent as part of Canada Post’s Smartmail Marketing Program, which had organized a mail campaign for the restaurant.  

Dufresne’s investigation discovered that Canada Post’s marketing program contracts mail service providers to prepare and send personalized mail-outs to customers based on their previous purchases.  

According to Canada Post, the marketing lists are based on 1,200 available targeting attributes, including marital and family status, ethnicity, interests and hobbies. 

While not all campaigns include recipients’ full addresses, Canada Post pointed out that their data shows Canadians are more likely to open addressed mail than unaddressed mail.   

However, the mail service providers cannot share the mailing lists with advertisers and must dispose of lists after the campaign is finished.  

After his investigation, Dufresne recommended that Canada Post stop using and disclosing personal information until it receives explicit permission from Canadians; however, the post office initially refused to change their policy.  

Canada Post argued that collecting and sharing information with marketing businesses is a way for Canada Post to keep up with their expenses as regular mail volumes decline. The postal service also claimed that Canadians would appreciate receiving personalized marketing offers by mail.   

However, Dufresne disagreed, pointing out that most Canadians would not perceive the monetization of their personal information positively, and would instead view it as a violation of privacy.  

Canada Post further contested that Canadians gave the postal services permission to send mail to their addresses and asking for “re-permission to deliver their mail would be absurd.” 

Additionally, Canada Post claimed that Canadians could chose to opt out of the marketing program through their website. The postal service argued that by not choosing to opt out, people gave implicit permission for their personal information to be used for the marketing program.  

Dufresne dismissed these arguments, reiterating his recommendation that Canada Post stop collecting and sharing personal information.  

While the postal service had initially refused his advice, Canada Post has since announced they will review their method after the news of their privacy violation spread on social media.  

“We are trusted to handle Canadians’ personal information every day,” Canada Post said on September 22. “There is nothing more important to us than maintaining that trust with Canadians.” 

Jack Fonseca of Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews that “It’s good to see the Federal Privacy Commissioner take an interest in protecting the privacy rights of Canadians.” 

“However, I have to ask where the hell was his concern when employers, hospitals, sporting arenas and government agencies were demanding that Canadians disclose private medical information and vaccination status?” he questioned. “Where was Mr. Dufresne when the most egregious violation of Canadians’ privacy rights in history was being perpetrated?” 

“It seems the Privacy Commissioner’s sense of duty is very selective,” Fonseca added. “In terms the Canada Post situation specifically, my greater concern with the collection of personal information and buying habits is not the potential for unwanted advertising flyers, but the potential for our dictator-in-chief, Justin Trudeau, to figure out how to weaponize it against Canadians.” 

“I’ll never forget when he and Chrystia Freeland seized the bank accounts of private citizens, without a warrant, in an egregious act of government tyranny,” he charged.