TORONTO - Authorities say a Canada Post employee was arrested after 75 filled-out passport applications collected by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley's office were allegedly stolen.
A 28-year-old man from the Gatineau, Que., area was arrested Nov. 6 and released, Const. Isabelle Poirier said Thursday.
Police recovered passport applications from Ontario and some stolen mail, said Poirier, who added Gatineau police are awaiting approval from the prosecutor's office before laying a theft charge.
The applications had been filled out at passport clinics held in Dunnville and Simcoe, Ont., by Finley's constituency office during the summer.
The documents disappeared at a sorting station in the Canada Post system in September after they were picked up at Finley's Simcoe constituency office, said Finley's spokesman Ryan Sparrow.
"The minister's understanding is that no personal information was compromised of any of the constituents. The situation is unfortunate," he said.
Canada Post spokesman John Caines also said there's no evidence to suggest that any information was compromised.
The arrest of the man, who no longer works for Canada Post, came after an investigation by both Canada Post and Gatineau police, he said.
"We do regret this was an unfortunate incident. We apologize to the people who were affected by this," said Caines.
Canada Post is offering those people who were affected $100 towards new passports and a registration with Equifax credit watch that will be paid for by Canada Post.
