Sunshine List "allowed my stalker to locate me," says government employee

Union calls on government for reforms to better protect women

TORONTO, March 23, 2018 /CNW/ - It's time to fix the Sunshine List to better protect women, says AMAPCEO, a union representing 14,000 professional public servants.

The union has recently been assisting a member whose safety was compromised when her stalker used the Sunshine List to locate and continue to harass her.

"The Sunshine List allowed my stalker to locate me," she said. "It gave him enough information to be able to figure out where I work. With this information, my stalker was able to continue harassing me in the office."

The public servant, who works for one of the Ontario government ministries, had taken significant steps to protect herself and her family, including moving cities and assuming a new name.

"This public servant's employer?the Government of Ontario?just gave her stalker all the information he needed to harass her again," said AMAPCEO Vice-President Cynthia Watt. "This would never fly in the private sector."

AMAPCEO says enough is enough, and is calling on the government to remove individuals' names from the Sunshine List, while still publishing salaries, to protect the personal privacy of public servants, especially women.

AMAPCEO President Dave Bulmer notes that "62% of our members are women.  If this government is serious about protecting women in an age of digital information, they'll make a simple fix to the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act to anonymize the list."

Because the government already collects data on the gender identity of its employees, anonymizing the Sunshine List would have no effect on pay equity analysis within the OPS.

The union has launched a public campaign demanding the government take action to fix the Sunshine List. Concerned citizens can send a postcard to the Premier at amapceo.on.ca/protectprivacy. Reluctantly, AMAPCEO is also considering challenging the legislation on this issue, if necessary.

"The Sunshine List puts people at risk of violence and harassment," said the AMAPCEO member who was stalked. "No one should have to choose between their job and their safety. This is not fair, it is not right, and it needs to end."

About AMAPCEO

Established in 1992, AMAPCEO is a bargaining agent that represents 13,250 professional and supervisory public servants, most of whom work directly for the Government of Ontario in every ministry and in a number of agencies, boards and commissions; in 130 communities throughout Ontario and in eleven cities outside Canada.

We also represent employees outside the Ontar­io Public Service in: the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth; Waypoint Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene; Public Health Ontario; Health Quality Ontario; the Ontario Arts Council; and the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner.

SOURCE AMAPCEO