A consortium of four law firms have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of those affected by the government’s loss of personal student loan information contained in a misplaced external hard drive.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the government agency that oversees the Canada Student Loans Program, announced Jan. 11 that an employee in Gatineau, Que. lost the hard drive in November.
The hard drive contained names, addresses, birth dates, loan balances, and social insurance numbers of 583,000 students who had taken out federal loans from 2000 to 2006.
Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories were not affected.
Bob Buckingham Law, which initially launched the lawsuit in January, announced Feb. 1 it would be joining three other Canadian law firms in the lawsuit.
The HRSDC sent letters to those affected on Jan. 25.
About 100 of these letters reportedly arrived addressed to others, a mistake the government is blaming on a printing error, according to CTV News.
Mike Young, a Carleton alumnus, was one of the people who was notified by the letter that his information was lost.
“When I first heard about the story indicating that my year had been affected, I was hoping that I wouldn’t get a letter, but I did. It’s disappointing. It’s the opposite of winning the lottery.”
The letter assured that there was no evidence “information had been accessed or used for fraudulent purposes,” and that specific measures have been taken to “safeguard the protection of [the] information.”
“We will monitor your SIN record at the Social Insurance Registry to ensure that no changes are made without your authorization,” the HRSDC said in the letter.
As part of these measures, the HRSDC has set up a toll free line those affected can call in order to consent to credit protection for up to six years free of charge.
“My one question would be, ‘Is that long enough?’” Young said.
“Since it’s been publicized that it’s for six years, then anyone who may obtain this information may decide just to hang onto it for six years before doing anything. It would be nice if it were more in perpetuity as opposed to just six years.”
The law firms involved in the lawsuit have also set up their own toll-free phone line for those affected to call and receive further information about the lawsuit, according to their website.
The lawyers are encouraging student loan borrowers from 2000 to 2006 to register their claim on their website, as they may be entitled to compensation for breach of their privacy and damages for other inconveniences caused by the situation.
“Punitive damages will also be claimed because the government failed to disclose the breach of privacy for two months,” the website reads.
Young said he is hoping the hard drive was truly misplaced rather than having possibly been stolen.
Young said that aside from the letter, he hasn’t received any further communication from the government.
