The personal information of 45,000 recipients of Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) was inadvertently distributed last month according to NEWSTALK 1010's sister station CTV Toronto.
CTV reports that the Dec. 20, 2018 privacy breach originated from the Mississauga social assistance office.
An email was sent to 100 people about service improvements, including online access to ODSP case information. But attached to that email was a spreadsheet with the names, ODSP identification numbers and email addresses of 45,000 clients.
According to CTV, the ministry of Children, Community and Social Services says the spreadsheet was attached by "error". In a letter sent to people whose information had been shared, the ministry says no personal financial information or home addresses were shared.
Colin D'Mello/CTV Toronto
The ministry tells CTV 75 of the 100 people who received the email have agreed to delete it. Officials have not been able to reach the other 25 recipients.
Minister Lisa MacLeod tweeted a statement Monday night, writing:
"As soon as I was notified of this breach I took steps to ensure those impacted & the privacy commissioner were notified & that processes & procedures were reviewed so mistakes like this don’t happen again. I apologize & want to assure the public that we take this seriously."