MLA for Abbotsford South and Opposition Critic for Citizens’ Services Bruce Banman on Monday asked Minister of Citizens’ Services Lisa Beare and the NDP why they have offered no support or explanation to B.C. students after reports that multiple government websites including StudentAid BC were hacked on Sunday.

“Just like the LifeLabs data breach in December 2019 and the Translink hack in December 2020, the NDP government has a bad habit of downplaying breaches and that is simply unacceptable,” said Banman. “Students need to know what personal details have potentially been exposed. They need clear and concise information about what exactly happened.”

The BC Liberals said that despite the data breach occurring late Sunday afternoon, Premier John Horgan and the NDP have yet to release any information or offer any supports for students concerned about their how their finances for the upcoming post-secondary year may be impacted.

“This type of silence and inaction from the NDP government is creating an unnecessary level of anxiety for thousands of students,” said Banman. “The minister responsible should be providing them with more assurances. What should students be doing now to further protect their information? What supports will be made available to students to help safeguard their credit ratings? Is there a hotline for them to get information? All these questions can and should have been answered by government by now.”