Kamloops city hall privacy breach a closed matter: deputy mayor

“More importantly, the privacy officer was advised of the individual’s stated intent to use the personal records for unlawful purpose, contrary to Section 32 of the [Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy] Act,” said O’Reilly. “Because of repeated refusals to return the records, the privacy officer was forced to seek assistance from the OIPC and from council.”

O’Reilly says the records were returned to their proper location just before the arrival of a statutory deadline to return them.

“As far as we are concerned on the city’s side, the investigation has been closed, as the documents were returned,” he said. “Had they not been returned, the next step was to request that the attorney general apply to the B.C. Supreme Court for an injunction ordering the individual to return the records and confirm they had not been duplicated or disseminated, all in accordance with Section 73.2 of the [Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy] Act.”

At a closed meeting on May 30, council passed a new policy pertaining to confidential personnel records. It spells out expectations around how the records should be handled and discussed.

O’Reilly noted his frustration that the matter made it to the media.

“It is very regretful and unfortunate that the city must even address the issue of the privacy leak publicly. This information was confidential and therefore should not have been disclosed by anyone to the media or any other source,” he said.

by James Peters

Kamloops city hall privacy breach a closed matter: deputy mayor

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