Okay, so a lot of people have been asking me, “Did you hear that Justin Trudeau is about to force all Canadians to get a digital ID?” and of course, “He’s going to give your personal health information to the World Economic Forum… sounds scary, but it’s actually not true.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with all 13 of Canada’s premiers to discuss a new health accord. Part of the discussion was about sharing health data to improve health outcomes across the country.
That part is true – what it’s been twisted into is not.
I found a link to a “news” story based on the ramblings of a single TikTok user. He basically says that Trudeau is requiring Premiers to agree to a digital ID in order to get the $196 billion in health care funding. Your health records would be tied to this digital ID, and without it, you wouldn’t be able to access health care or even get a bank account. This is just a bogus claim by someone who hates Trudeau…don’t get me wrong, I am NOT in any way advocating for Trudeau. I hate the guy and have absolutely no use for him… But I do hate when people spread false or incorrect information just to get people riled up.
My understanding is that the kind of health data that Trudeau and the premiers want to share is not what’s in your file, but rather how many surgeries have been performed, how long the wait list for those surgeries is, how much the wait list has been reduced. You know, information that shows whether this funding is doing what it’s supposed to do, which is reduce wait times and increase the efficiency with which our health care system is operating. Nobody wants to read that you had a wart removed last year or that you continue to suffer from post-nasal drip…
Yet I keep hearing this crap being spouted as fact and that our privacy is being sold to the WHO… These claims are so loud, so persistent, that two premiers have so far spoken out on the matter. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe issued his statement in response to an organized petition with thousands of signatures:
“The Government of Saskatchewan is not creating a digital ID, nor will we accept any requirements for the creation of a digital ID tied to health-care funding”
But then a bunch of individuals took that as proof that the digital ID was on the table and demanded that other premiers denounce the idea and promise not to sell their health information to Trudeau and Schwab …
Even Premier Doug Ford said in a statement :
“I want to be clear, the Ontario government will never share anyone’s personalized health information — digital or otherwise — with the federal government. In fact, at no point has the federal government requested this data or tied it to any funding terms.”
So yes, you read that right, the federal government has never asked for personalized health information.
Are governments working on digital ID? Absolutely, in fact we have a basic version of it already in place here in Alberta. With this ID, you can renew your driver’s license online, renew your registration, pay fines, and even access your personal lab results as soon as they’re processed. This is all based on citizen demand as much as anything else.
Right now, you can go out to dinner on a Saturday night based on the reservation you made on your phone, pay the bill with the credit card tied to your phone, and then go to a game or show after dinner using the ticket on your phone. A lot of people look at that and wonder why they can’t have their driver’s license or health card loaded in the same way, and they want governments to make those options available. Personally, I would love to have a digital health card so I don’t have to carry around the paper version.
I know this scares the hell out of some people, who think it allows the government or big corporations to track them – and their health data. And I know my little blurb won’t make the conspiracy go away, and every new digital advance driven by consumer and citizen demand will only fuel it, but no, Justin Trudeau is not coming for our health records.