ONTARIO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ASKS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO MAKE COMPANIES REVEAL WHEN CREDIT INFORMATION STOLEN Make companies reveal when credit card info stolen: Ontario:

Make companies reveal when credit card info stolen: Ontario
Last Updated: Monday, February 5, 2007 | 4:37 PM ET
CBC News

Ontario is asking the federal government to force Canadian companies to notify consumers when hackers steal their debit and credit card information.

Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips says he wants national standards to protect individuals, rather than having each territory or province pass its own legislation to protect consumers from identitytheft.

The provincial government has prepared a written submission for a federal committee looking at federal privacy legislation, urging Ottawa to make it mandatory for banks and retailers to inform customers when their personal information has been stolen.

"We've recommended to the committee that they incorporate that in the amendments that they're looking at for the federal law," says Phillips.

TJX Cos., the U.S. parent firm of Canadian retailers Winners and Home Sense, was the victim of a security breach that may have compromised millions of credit card accounts.

Hackers broke into the computer system in mid-December, but the company did not reveal the fact until a month later.