Anyone can use the database, so long as they pay the fee. (CBC)

The province is defending its right to publish mortgage information online in the wake of a complaint filed with P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner alleging that posting such details on the internet is an invasion of privacy.

The government is fighting a complaint objecting to the kind of information available on Geolinc, an online database run by the province's taxation department, although just last week it moved to restrict the way Islanders can search information on another of its sites, the online corporate registry.

For a $25 registration fee on Geolinc anyone can have access to property assessments, tax information, deeds and mapping information for any parcel of land on P.E.I. Last year, an Islander complained to the privacy commissioner the database provided access to sensitive information, including mortgage account numbers and balances.

The complaint suggested the site put Islanders at risk of identity theft and was an invasion of privacy.

Database meant for business

In the case of the corporate registry, the province moved to block a web developer from manipulating the data on the government site on his own website, OpenCorporations.org, so that it was searchable by shareholder name, not just company name. But in the case of Geolinc, it sees no need to restrict access to the database.

Assistant provincial tax commissioner Jim Ramsay told CBC News Wednesday the Geolinc information is useful for doing business.

"It's used by corporations, companies that have an interest in land, financial institutions, real estate [agents], law firms," said Ramsay.

The province is defending its system to the commissioner. An interim report in the case points out that other provinces have dealt with the same issue and have found there are valid concerns about internet access to similar databases.

When the city of Victoria, B.C., put its property assessments online, their site went from having 30 visitors to 15,000 in one day. The report also says some jurisdictions have limited what is posted online.

The case is still before the privacy commissioner.