Tory, minister trade jabs over cybersecurity

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This article was published 28/03/2025 (363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s minister of new technology repeatedly deflected questions about his office’s early cyberattack prevention and response efforts on Friday.

River Heights MLA Mike Moroz was tapped to join the NDP cabinet with a first-of-its-kind title in the fall.

The Nov. 13 appointment was announced after several high-profile data breaches at public institutions, including Shared Health and the University of Winnipeg.

The Opposition Tories asked Moroz about how many of these events took place in 2024 and whether the province has a policy for providing post-incident monitoring services to affected residents and if so, what it is.

“I encourage (Tory MLA Josh Guenter) to perhaps begin, as he looks at asking questions in the future, to begin by asking all of the previous ministers of innovation and new technology the work that they did in advance of this to protect Manitobans,” Moroz told the legislative assembly.

“Oh wait, you can’t, because there aren’t any.”

The NDP caucus erupted into laughter and applause after his retort.

Guenter, the critic for public service delivery, ended his line of questioning by requesting details about plans to undertake public education to protect Manitobans’ personal information.

Moroz provided a vague response, saying his ministry is strengthening cybersecurity initiatives and will share more details “in the days ahead.”

Following question period, Guenter accused the minister of not having a basic clue about cybersecurity or the government’s role in prevention and education.

“Perhaps the minister should put more work into learning his portfolio and less time thinking about lame one-liners,” the critic said.

Statistics Canada data show there were 13,501 police-reported cybercrimes in the Prairies as of the third quarter of 2024.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca