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VICTORIA — British Columbia’s privacy watchdog has turned down a B.C. Liberal party request to investigate allegations the New Democratic Party was in breach of personal information protection laws.

Drew McArthur said in a statement Monday that a complaint submitted to his office by the Liberal party does not meet the threshold for an investigation initiated by his office.

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The Liberal party called for an investigation Friday, alleging the NDP breached the Personal Information Protection Act by sharing its lists of supporters with “politically friendly” groups without the consent of individuals on the list.

McArthur rejected the Liberal complaint on two grounds, saying he has not received complaints from individuals whose personal information was affected, and he determined it does not meet the test for his office to initiate it own investigation.

The Liberals submitted documents to the commissioner that alleged the NDP had agreements to share its supporter list with Strategic Communications, the municipal political parties, Vision Vancouver, Coalition of Progressive Electors and the Surrey Civic Coalition, and NDP officials in Saanich.

The act balances two principles, an individual’s right to protect his or her personal information and an organization’s need to collect, use or disclose personal information for reasonable purposes.