Alberta health minister apologizes for QR code issues, possible data breaches
The province assures Albertans that issues with an update to the province's proof of vaccination QR code are being worked on after a dozen data breaches were reported to Alberta Health.
“I do want to apologize to Albertans who may have experienced some issues when accessing the updated vaccine record for travel,” Health Minister Jason Copping said in the legislature Thursday. “I want to assure the House that department officials are urgently looking into it.”
“They’ve notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner that there may have been some breaches.”
Alberta Health announced Thursday evening that there were 12 reports from Albertans that they received the wrong vaccine record when they entered their information on the province's website.
"The website was shut down immediately following these reports," press secretary Steve Buick wrote in a statement.
"An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the technical problem and the number of Albertans affected. It does not appear to be caused by a security breach to the system."
The province had originally announced that a new QR code, which meets the federal travel requirements, would be released Wednesday.
But many people experienced an error when trying to access the new record, and eventually, a message was posted to the government’s website stating the new record would be unavailable while the issues were worked out.
Albertans were still able to access the previous version of the QR code.
Buick said the original version still works at businesses and other provinces can now scan that code too.
The health minister did not specify exactly when the new record would be available, but said it would be ready by the federal deadline on Nov. 30.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.