As the expiry date nears for two of Thomson Reuters’ contracts with the United States Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one B.C. union is sounding the alarm over human rights concerns.

Thomson Reuters is a Toronto-based technology company that owns Reuters News Agency and the legal research tool Westlaw. It has several contracts providing the U.S. agencies access to its investigative research tools.

One US$5.9-million contract, which gives the Department of Homeland Security access to Thomson Reuters’ criminal investigation database CLEAR, is set to expire this month.

A second, US$22.8-million contract, which gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, access to a “law enforcement investigative database,” is set to expire at the end of May.

With a market cap of US$39 billion, Thomson Reuters is majority-controlled by Woodbridge Co. Ltd.

The BC General Employees’ Union holds a small share of the company. The union has been raising concerns about the potential of Thomson Reuters’ investigative tools to surveil and track people.