CBC:

Police forces across Ontario engaged in broad, illegal searches of a now-defunct COVID-19 database, two civil rights groups alleged Wednesday, claiming the use of the portal violated individual privacy rights for months.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) said in separate reports that many services used the database to look at COVID-19 test results for wide geographic areas and sometimes pulled up personal information unrelated to active calls.

“People weren’t told that when they went for COVID tests that this information was being shared with police and they certainly weren’t asked for their consent,” said Abby Deshman, the criminal justice program director for the CCLA. 

“That should be a decision every person makes about what they want to do with their own personal medical information.”

In early April, the Ontario government passed an emergency order that allowed police to obtain the names, addresses and dates of birth of Ontarians who had tested positive for COVID-19. The portal was aimed at helping to protect first responders.