A possible data breach involving a third-party vendor may have compromised the personal health information of approximately 200,000 Ontarians, according to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones. The breach, which allegedly occurred on March 17 and impacted Ontario Health atHome patients, is now the subject of an active investigation.
Liberal MPP Adil Shamji raised alarm in a public statement on Friday, accusing the government of withholding the incident from the public for over three months. He has formally requested Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) to launch an inquiry and has demanded that Premier Doug Ford explain the prolonged silence.
During a press conference the same day, Jones acknowledged the investigation but did not confirm whether medical records were actually accessed. “Ontario Health is absolutely investigating right now,” she said. “It is standard procedure to notify the public if there has been any form of breach to individual patients, but that investigation is going on right now.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health later criticized the delay in following the proper response protocol, calling it “unacceptable.” Minister Jones has since directed Ontario Health atHome to coordinate with the vendor to immediately notify affected individuals and strengthen safeguards across all third-party partnerships.
Ontario Health atHome oversees the delivery of home and community-based healthcare. Shamji’s letter to the IPC claims the breach may have affected nearly one-third of all homecare patients in Ontario. In response, the IPC confirmed that it has begun a review of the matter but declined to comment further while the case remains in its early stages.
Premier Doug Ford, when asked about the breach, stated that he was unaware of it prior to the press conference. “Health records are sacred in Ontario,” he said. “Anyone who breaches health care records needs to be fired immediately, they need to be gone, charged—that is what needs to happen here in Ontario.”
