OTTAWA-
The company overseeing the $ 900 million federal government settlement deal with the military who suffered inappropriate sexual conduct in uniform admits further violations of privacy, despite repeated promises to have fixed the problem.
Epiq Class Action Services Canada confirmed the additional errors after a third veteran appeared in The Canadian Press to report that he had received an email with the personal details of a different claimant earlier this month.
The veteran, who asked not to be identified because she still works for the federal government, said the information was contained in an attachment while she was fighting Epiq after the company sent her settlement check to the wrong address.
The Federal Court appointed Epiq to administer the settlement process after the government reached an agreement in November 2019 with the plaintiffs on three overlapping class actions related to sexual misconduct in the military.
“I feel betrayed and worried that my personal information has been sent to other members,” the veteran said. “I’ve sent more than 180 pages of documents and I’m fed up with someone having my information. It’s a victim everywhere.”
Epiq has previously stated that unintentionally published information does not include witnesses or other such documents, but only the names of claimants, contact details and randomly generated claim numbers.
However, he has apologized for the mistakes since the first one was reported in March, and has repeatedly promised that he was taking the appropriate disciplinary and procedural steps to ensure that no more plaintiffs are affected.
The leaks also prompted a group of plaintiffs, lawyers and government officials in charge of overseeing the deal to order an independent audit of the Epic claims process to avoid further problems.
Since then, the company has hired an external auditor to review and recommend changes to its procedures, Epiq vice president Angela Hoidas said in an email, adding: “We sincerely regret these additional disclosures.
“While inadvertent human error has affected a small portion of the claims we have successfully handled in this class, we believe that any inadvertent error is unacceptable and we have already taken substantial steps to improve our policies and procedures.”
Attorney Jonathan Ptak, who represents some of the veterans and active duty members involved in the three government-resolved lawsuits, said the audit has begun.
However, neither Epic’s promises to address the issue nor the decision to order an audit stopped the latest breach, which according to a statement on Epic’s website raises to 109 the total number of plaintiffs. which has been compromised.
Although Epiq has not disclosed the total number of actual incidents in which a breach has occurred, Defense Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said the company has reported 20 individual violations since Feb. 8. .
This includes 15 unreported incidents previously discovered by the company during an internal review in late February.
“National defense takes the issue of privacy very seriously,” Lamirande said in an email. “We have asked Epiq to investigate and take steps to ensure that this matter is contained, resolved and does not happen again.”
Nearly 20,000 people have applied for compensation as part of the class action agreement.
Retired Master Corporal Amy Green and fellow veteran France Menard said they had heard nothing from the company, government or law firms involved in the deal since they received private information about other plaintiffs. Epiq earlier this year.
“It’s disappointing, that’s for sure,” Menard said. “They’re trying to put everything under the rug.”
The veteran who most recently received information from another claimant said she and others had already had issues with Epiq even before the privacy breaches, including incorrect information and settlement payments sent to the wrong addresses.
The information sent to Menard and Green consists of the names of individual claimants, as well as their claim numbers, which can be used to send documents via a secure link to the class action website.
Hoidas has said that these documents would be reviewed by Epiq and that individual files cannot be accessed, but Menard and Green say they are not satisfied with Epiq’s response, especially given the sensitive nature of the claims and the agreement. settlement.
While the privacy commissioner’s office said in March that it was investigating the issue after receiving a report of a breach of Epic privacy, spokesman Vito Pilieci said there were no updates to the dog’s investigation. vigilant.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 15, 2022.