The province’s Privacy Commissioner says his investigation is continuing into questions raised concerning a clause in the province’s Privacy Legislation and how it relates to the disclosure of the die-off of 2.6 million farmed salmon on the province’s south coast.
Michael Harvey launched his investigation following questions put to him by NDP member Jim Dinn about whether the province’s ATIPP legislation was applicable in Minister Gerry Byrne’s failure to publicly disclose information on the disaster.
(Photo courtesy Atlantic Salmon Federation.)
Byrne had indicated that he would have said something sooner were it not for ATIPP legislation.
He told reporters back in October that there were concerns about commercial liability should government disclose the information—which is why he put the responsibility on the company involved.
Minister Byrne indicated he learned of the event on September 3, but it was another three weeks before it was made public through questions raised by the FFAW.
The clause involves government’s duty to disclose—without delay—information about a risk of significant harm to the environment or to the health or safety of the public or a group of people.
Commissioner Harvey says he felt he had to examine the questions raised by Jim Dinn in a more robust way, and he’s collecting information on what the minister knew and when.
He says governments deal with all sorts of difficult issues and don’t always disclose everything they know to the public. So, his question is how you would define that test.
Harvey says he had to examine the question so that it could be applied in future.
