B.C.’s privacy watchdog wants oversight of government emails
VICTORIA B.C.’s independent privacy commissioner says the government should be stripped of authority for handling its own records and his office put in charge of oversight, after a series of concerning examples of mass-deleted emails by staff and ministers.
Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy said he was surprised to see the new NDP government ensnared in the same problems over missing records and deleted emails that have befallen previous governments.
“I was surprised given what our office has said in numerous investigations, given what government’s own policies have dictated, given the record schedules for what is to be retained and what can be safely destroyed,” McEvoy said Monday. “In those circumstances and in the general awareness, it’s surprising stories like this would continue to happen.”
Premier John Horgan apologized earlier this month after it was revealed at least seven staff in his office, as well as cabinet minister Melanie Mark, deleted all their sent emails over certain periods.
They had no record of sending anything when they were requested under the Freedom of Information Act. The revelation sparked cries of hypocrisy because the NDP in opposition had been extremely critical of the previous Liberal government’s attempts to hide embarrassing emails by mass-deleting them (using a practice called “triple-deleting ”) and had promised the NDP would do better if it ever took power.
McEvoy said his office, which is independent, currently has no oversight or ability to penalize government for improperly deleting records such as emails. He said the easiest solution would be for government to relinquish control to him.
“It would enhance the public’s confidence in these systems if there was an independent oversight of these record systems” he said. “Our office would make the most sense.”
McEvoy said he’s also asked government to explain the training regime for staff on how they were taught to handle email records and whether they followed those rules.
Horgan’s deputy minister Don Wright is investigating the missing emails. In the case of the seven premier’s office staff, many of the emails missing are from a fourmonth period when the NDP first formed office in 2017.
McEvoy said he’s been assured that the government has found backup copies of the deleted emails and restored them properly so that they can be accessed under FOI.
“Our understanding is in terms of the specific cases where email boxes were found to be devoid of emails that government intends to have those email boxes reconstructed so they can be subject to a proper searching to an access request,” he said. “That’s an appropriate step for sure. But again, that left my office and me wondering how we got here in the first place.”
McEvoy also cast doubt over Advanced Education Minister Mark’s attempts to dismiss her missing emails, which she’s said she has no obligation to keep because other officials like her deputy minister would keep the official record of her decisions.