B.C.’s Ministry of the Attorney General is set to be in Nanaimo court on Monday asking that an affidavit from a senior city official be sealed from the public.
The affidavit from Sheila Gurrie, city clerk and head of the freedom of information and privacy service, was filed as part of the the ministry’s bid to force Nanaimo Coun. Gord Fuller and citizens Matthew O’Donnell (also known as Matt Hensock), Tim McGrath and Terry Lee Wagar to return confidential documents to the city, remove them from the internet and to destroy any copies.
The case was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo last month. It centres on the distribution of an email written by the mayor to a labour relations consultant discussing fellow council members, and letters from a lawyer written on behalf of a council member.
Allegations have not been proven in court.
A confidentiality order is needed because there is the risk that sensitive third-party personal information could be made public, Kristina McKinnon, lawyer for the Ministry of the Attorney General, said in her application.
Third parties would “suffer irreparable harm” otherwise, she said. The information in question is in exhibits filed in court as part of the affidavit. — Times Colonist
