Veteran claims government breached his privacy

A Gulf War veteran is suing the federal government for allegedly breaching his privacy, saying his personal information was shared among hundreds of bureaucrats at Veterans Affairs.

Sean Bruyea, a vocal critic of veterans policy, said the government allowed personal medical and psychological information to be inserted into briefing notes sent to high-ranking bureaucrats and government ministers.

The briefing notes were about Bruyea's opposition to the government's new charter for modern veterans.

Bruyea claims the documents show more than 400 different bureaucrats have accessed his file — in many cases when they had no reason to do so.

He is now suing the government for $100,000, alleging it violated his privacy and his charter rights and breached its duty to him as a veteran.

"I want the system fixed so that other people don't have to go through what I went through, so they can not fear that their lives are going to be hijacked by a bureaucracy with a malevolent agenda."

Bruyea is also going after three high-ranking bureaucrats. Each one of them is named in the statement of claim, accused of "malfeasance in public office."

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn says he's now looking at increasing penalties for bureaucrats who break the rules.

"Up to now, if a person [looks at a] file who should not look, the maximum penalty is five days without payment. So it's really not enough," he said.

Canada's privacy commissioner is also investigating Veterans Affairs. Her report could be finished by the end of the week.