Cam Fortems reports:
The TNRD has issued letters of apology to residents of a rural area near Lytton after it breached their privacy by releasing their letters to a corporation that wants to develop a waste composting facility.
Lyle Huntley, corporate services director for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, confirmed it has sent letters of apology to a number of residents from Botanie Valley.
“We do strongly apologize and recognize there was an error,” he said.
The letters from residents opposed to the development were forwarded to proponent Northwest Organics.
Tricia Thorpe, one of the residents of Botanie Valley to receive the apology, said some of the original letters are being used by Northwest Organics in lawsuits against residents.
“You wouldn’t expect they’d release them without our consent,” she said. “You’re a private individual sending to a government agency. They’re turning it around and sending it to a business.”
Read more on Kamloops News. A TNRD spokesperson is cited as saying that the privacy commissioner determined that although this was inappropriate and should not have happened, it did not constitute a serious breach.