Violation alleged
Bauche also told the Times
Colonist that the daycare Lucas attended before his death reported to the Usma Nuu-chahnulth Family and Child Services that the boy had bruises on the side of his face, arms and back.
The written correspondence from Charlesworth’s legal representative, Mark Underhill of the Arvay Finlay law firm, alleges that Bauche violated her job’s oath of confidentiality.
“Please consider this letter as a demand to immediately cease and desist from any further disclosure, use, or dissemination of any confidential information obtained in the course of your employment,” the letter reads.
When asked Friday what information Charlesworth says Bauche leaked, B.C.’s representative for children and youth issued a statement saying: “A former employee of my office unlawfully disclosed confidential information, including the identity of an entity which provided a critically important report to our office, to a reporter of the Times Colonist.”
“Young people, their caregivers and service providers come to us because they know we will hold their stories privately. This is the most important foundational piece of why they trust us. The very public breach of confidentiality by this former employee has significantly jeopardized that trust,” the statement says.
Charlesworth said she is undertaking a major systemic review of the child welfare system, including the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Child and Family Services, to support learning and improvements to practices — “and Dontay’s life and death will be addressed within this.”
Gratl has written a letter in response, saying that his client Bauche “has not violated her oath of confidentiality or breached any contractual or ethical obligation.”
The lawyer told Postmedia that “even if it was notionally breached,” the oath does not have legal bearings because of B.C.’s Protection of Public Participation Act, which protects people who make criticisms on matters of public interest from lawsuits intended to intimidate or silence them.
“The demand letter is an illegitimate attempt to limit Ms. Bauche’s right to free expression, restrict public awareness, and restrain public debate about the death of Dontay Lucas,” reads Gratl’s correspondence to Underhill.
“It is beneath an independent officer of the legislature to make threats to litigate without having any intention to litigate. Not only is this legal bullying, it is legal bullying funded by the public purse.”