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An Alberta government employee is under investigation after Edmonton police discovered as many as 60 sensitive files in the province’s maintenance enforcement program may have been accessed inappropriately.

The alleged privacy breach was discovered during a larger police investigation, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Monday.

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The enforcement program collects and enforces court-ordered child and spousal support payments, meaning the files contained financial information and other personal details.

“Obviously, we’re deeply concerned because this is the private information of individuals who have come into the program — sometimes very vulnerable individuals,” Ganley said.

The employee in question is under investigation by both Edmonton police and Justice Department officials, Ganley said. The employee still has a job with the government, but no longer has access to the client database, Ganley added.

“To the best of our knowledge, there is only one individual involved,” she said.

The province said the case was brought to its attention last week. It’s not clear when the breach occurred, but an Edmonton police spokesman said it was discovered during an unrelated investigation in mid-March.