REGINA – SaskTel received 11,857 information requests from various authorized government agencies and emergency services providers in 2013, the company disclosed Wednesday in its first ever Transparency Report.
Like all telecommunications companies that provide services, SaskTel noted that it is required by law to assist agencies for purposes such as enforcing criminal law, protecting public revenue and safeguarding national security. Assistance is also provided to emergency services agencies for reasons such as responding to life threatening situations or dealing with matters relating to emergency calls. SaskTel said that it complies with Saskatchewan’s privacy laws and takes “active steps” to protect its customers’ information, such as employing a dedicated team that “are experts in the whole area of security and are intimately familiar with investigative techniques” to respond to data requests from government agents and police.
All requests that SaskTel responds to require, as a pre-requisite, a legal basis for making such a request, and the company said it denies requests that it deems vague or not supported by statute. Even court orders undergo a review, the report continues. Agencies that may request customer information include RCMP, police within the meaning of the Police Act, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Departments of: Environment, Highways, Liquor and Gaming, CN and CP Police, Canadian Parks, Chief Coroner, Ombudsman, Consumer Protection Branch, Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission, Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency and Enforcement of Maintenance Order Act, Residential Tenancies Act.
According to the report, SaskTel received 1,582 requests for listed customer name and address; 4,139 for court order, 896 for freedom of information and protection of privacy (excluding child sexual exploitation); 233 federal/provincial government formal demands; 718 emergency requests (3,993 after-hours by operator services); and 49 child sexual exploitation. Of those 11,857 requests, 247 were denied.
The 2013 Transparency Report is SaskTel’s first annual report and the company pledged to release annual Transparency Reports in the second quarter of each year.
“SaskTel is committed to transparency in our information disclosure practices and we would like to assure our customers that we take the matter of customer privacy very seriously,” said president and CEO Ron Styles, in a statement. “We only release non-published information when the appropriate legal process is followed and this report details our complete compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements governing the release of customer data.”
