BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
A second request for information regarding a payment made by Murray Harbour to a former CAO has been denied.
“This matter was a confidential legal matter, and I have been instructed by the municipality’s legal counsel not to comment or provide any documents,” said current CAO Anne Harnesk.
Back in May 2017 Sylvain De Lafontaine, who passed away in 2021, filed a statement of claim against the village over the village’s finances at the time and his job termination.
A settlement was reached between the two and at the time The Graphic was told the amount was confidential.
Then Mayor Garry Herring told the Graphic the amount would be in the next budget released in 2019.
However, a copy of that budget on the municipality’s website does not list such an item.
Prior to 2020, when the municipality enacted the Access to Information bylaw, there was no mechanism to formally ask for information.
Since Mr De Lafontaine’s death, the reasoning behind the case remaining confidential is unclear.
Murray Harbour is not a designated municipal public body under the FOIPP Act, said Department of Justice and Public Safety spokesperson Kip Ready, which meant the Graphic could not file a formal freedom of information request.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca
You can support trusted and verified news content like this.
FIPA’s news monitor subscribers, donors and funders help make these available to everyone rather than behind a paywall. We appreciate every contribution because it makes a difference.
If you found this article interesting and useful, please consider contributing here.
