For victims of domestic violence in Alberta, the recent leak of their home addresses might mean they need to find a new place to live — quickly.
Kim Ruse, CEO of Fear is Not Love in Calgary, says two people have already contacted her organization looking for relocation assistance. She suspects there are even more considering it.
“[The breach] adds an extra layer of risk for people who have fled domestic violence and abuse, and are protecting their privacy and their location,” she said.
Last week, Elections Alberta announced it received an injunction against the Centurion Project to pull down an online database containing personal information of millions of Albertans, based on a provincial voters list.
Both Elections Alberta and the RCMP are now investigating.
Ruse says she hopes community members will offer help where they can, and landlords show understanding if their tenants need to break their lease early.
Even if victims are not looking for a new home, they may want to revisit their safety plans, says Andrea Silverstone, CEO of Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society in Calgary. Those plans are individually tailored and can include things like exit strategies, trusted contacts and direct phone lines to police.
There’s emotional fallout as well, says Silverstone, for people who have been taking measures to feel more secure, only to feel like that’s all been compromised.
“It’s very hard to recover safety after safety has been lost,” she said.
And for some, she says, it could also result in future calculations about the benefits of participating in their democratic right to vote, now that they see a risk of having their information made public.
“I haven’t per se yet heard any clients saying, you know, ‘I’m never going to vote again,'” said Silverstone, “but I know 100 per cent that those are the thoughts that are going to be going through people’s minds.”
It’s not just victims of domestic violence who might be worried.
Both Ruse and Silverstone note that staff in their organizations have themselves been the target of threats and vitriol in the past, and may also now worry about their safety.
And it’s a concern for many other Albertans in the public eye — from law enforcement to doctors to politicians.
John Orr, president of the Calgary Police Association, says at this point the union has heard from “very few members” about the breach.
But he says privacy is often a major concern for officers.
“Given the work that they do and some of the people that they encounter in their job, it’s always a concern to ensure that their personal information is protected,” said Orr.
Jared Wesley is a professor of political science at the University of Alberta and among those calling for a public inquiry into the breach.
“There’s many of us that have upped our security systems in reaction to this. Because we know that even me speaking publicly now is making me a potential target with somebody who actually knows now where I live,” Wesley told CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener.
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney posted on X that he has retained legal counsel after hearing his home address was shared publicly at a separatist event.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi highlighted the risks for every Alberta voter whose information was on that list.
“You may not be a survivor of violence. You might not be a public official. You might be one of the lucky few people who doesn’t have someone with a grudge against you,” said Nenshi.
“Every single Albertan is now at risk of identity theft; every single Albertan is at risk of ruining their credit rating or having their money stolen.”
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you’re affected by family or intimate partner violence in Alberta, you can call or text the Family Violence Info Line at 310-1818. Other crisis lines and local support services.
