Canadian Ellen Richardson was on her way to a Caribbean cruise, flying to New York City, when she was stopped by a U.S. Customs agent at Toronto’s Pearson Airport over a hospitalization in 2012 for clinical depression.
Richardson, who is a paraplegic, was told by the agent she would have to get “medical clearance” before being allowed into the United States.
The Toronto Star newspaper which featured this story, followed up with another saying Canada’s federal police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) shares this kind of information with the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database and the FBI and other U.S. agencies.
The incident has sparked an investigation by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s most populous province of Ontario.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda spoke to Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian about the incident and her concerns.
More information:
Toronto Star – Disabled woman denied entry to U.S. after agent cites supposedly private medical details – here
Toronto Star – RCMP collect suicide attempt reports — and share details with U.S. officials – here
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner website – www.ipc.on.ca
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