More power for Yukon RCMP to solve missing persons cases brings privacy concerns

This week, the Yukon government released new regulations that ratchet up the powers of the RCMP.

Before the Missing Persons Act came into effect, police couldn't compel someone or an organization to release personal information on a missing person. 

Now, the act allows exactly that. 

"I think we're really going to see an increase in efficiency," said Staff Sgt. Eric Lane of the Yukon RCMP. 

Lane described faster access to financial, health and phone records of missing people. Police officers are now also able to apply for search orders — which they can already do in criminal investigations, but not when there's no proof of any wrongdoing.

Under the act, the RCMP can also request access to any other individuals personal records they believe could help to locate a missing person. 

"Because of privacy considerations it was a lot more difficult to get access to that information," Lane said. 

The act defines a missing person as "an individual whose whereabouts are unknown and who has not been in contact with people who they would likely be in contact with, or an individual for whom there is a reasonable fear for their safety, taking into account the circumstances surrounding their absence." 

Will Steinburg, with the Department of Justice, said the act doesn't apply only to current cases. 

"It can be used in historic cases if the record is still available," Steinburg said, warning that in many cases, personal records might have been destroyed already. 

Striking a balance

The Yukon is one of the last places in Canada to implement this type of legislation, but it's the first in the North to do so.

The Northwest Territories have been working on developing similar legislation for the past three years. 

In explaining the delay, N.W.T. Justice Minister R.J. Simpson has highlighted the importance of balancing police powers with respect for personal privacy.

Drew McNeil, the director of policy and communications with the Yukon's Department of Justice, echoed that concern.

The Yukon's Missing Persons Act was first introduced in 2017. McNeil said the act answers a call from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 

He said over the last years, women's organizations in the Yukon, Yukon First Nations and the RCMP were consulted. 

"We heard a lot about ... protecting the safety of vulnerable persons and placing limits on police that were to request and disclose information," McNeil said.

"There are limits." 

Any member of the RCMP face a $10,000 fine if they don't respect these restrictions, McNeil said. Under the act, the RCMP is also obligated to produce an annual report about its use of the legislation.

Mixed reactions

While some welcomed the implementation of the Missing Persons Act, others say that type of power could be easily abused or misused.

Sharon Polsky, the president of the Privacy and Access Council of Canada, is one of them. 

She agreed that the goal of the legislation is terrific. But she said it can open the door to privacy invasion if not well regulated. 

"I can imagine the police will, in all good faith, start an investigation report ... and then something happens," she said. 

She's particularly concerned that individual information accessed by police could be shared with other agencies, and have unexpected and unintended consequences. 

Polsky referred to the ability to share personal records across borders  — a clause included in the Yukon's Missing Persons Act — that could result in people being mysteriously refused access at airports. 

"If my name somehow is included in a file as not even a suspect, just someone the police spoke to ... and I want to travel," she said.

"I go online ... and I can't get a boarding pass. That's because my name is now flagged, is distributed to other law enforcement agencies including [the U.S.] Department of Homeland Security."

Polsky said that's why scrutinizing annual reports is crucial. 

Sofia Ashley, executive director of the Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre in Whitehorse, raised further concerns. 

Ashley spoke of women that don't want to be found — a possibility the legislation doesn't address. 

"Sometimes releasing information to the RCMP is not in the best interest of women," Ashley said. 

There are scenarios, Ashley continued, where women are fleeing abusive relationship. She said, "maybe the abuser will report to the RCMP." 

Meanwhile, there are several people still missing in the Yukon, including Ramona Peter. 

Peter went missing more than six months ago from the community of Ross River — located 400 kilometres north of Whitehorse. 

Dylan Loblaw, chief of the Ross River Dena Council, slammed the government for not implementing the act sooner. At the time of Peter's disappearance, community members urged the RCMP and the First Nation's council to search every house, but some refused to willingly give access. 

"It could have caught things earlier," Loblaw said. "It could have could have played out differently."

Ramona Peter has yet to been found.