Kamloops Seniors Village - File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Kamloops Seniors Village

MP raises data security concerns for Chinese-owned Kamloops Seniors Village

May 30, 2019 | 2:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — The MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo says in light of the country’s current relationship with China, she’s concerned about the data security for staff and residents at Kamloops Seniors Village (KSV).

Retirement Concepts, which owned KSV, was sold to Anbang Insurance in March, 2017. The sale had to be approved by the Trudeau government.

Less than 12 months later, the Chinese government seized control of Anbang and prosecuted its chairman for economic crimes.

Relations between Ottawa and China have grown icy after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver and China detained two Canadians, seemingly as retaliation.

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Given those detentions, Conservative MP Cathy McLeod says she wants the government to assure KSV residents and staff that China isn’t meddling where it shouldn’t be.

“When Retirement Concepts was bought, was there adequate protection put in in terms of data privacy? We have employees, we have seniors, and what kind of reassurance do we have that their data is not under the ownership of the Chinese government?” asked McLeod.

Recently, McLeod says she met with a union asking similar questions with respect to the hotel sector. She says she is not aware of any specific incidents or complaints about seniors care, but would like some assurance regardless.

“The union that I met with had concerns [about] the hotel industry where there have been certainly some very clear data breaches by the Chinese,” said McLeod. “So it doesn’t take a big leap of faith to say we have another vulnerable population.”

McLeod says both the opposition Conservatives and NDP would like the matter referred to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

“We know that our relationship is very fragile right now,” noted McLeod. “We know there has been what I would call a naive approach by the Trudeau government in terms of their relations (with China). Did they allow this investment, this purchase to go through without ensuring proper protections?”