Visited the liquor store more often during COVID? Canada’s health agency tracked that – National
A report despatched to the Home of Commons ethics committee exhibits that Canadians’ actions, together with journeys to the liquor retailer and pharmacy, had been intently tracked through their cellphones with out their data in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outbreak intelligence analysts BlueDot ready experiences utilizing anonymized knowledge for the Public Well being Company of Canada to assist it perceive journey patterns in the course of the pandemic.
The federal authorities supplied considered one of these experiences to the ethics committee because it probed the gathering and use of cell phone knowledge by the general public well being company.
The report reveals the company was in a position to view an in depth snapshot of individuals’s behaviour, together with visits to the grocery retailer, gatherings with household and mates, time spent at dwelling and journeys to different cities and provinces.
MPs on the ethics committee expressed shock at how a lot element the report contained, at the same time as all figuring out data was stripped out.
The committee on Wednesday launched a report on its general probe into the company’s assortment of telephone knowledge in the course of the pandemic. It concluded the federal government ought to inform Canadians if it collects knowledge about their actions and permit them to choose out.
