Tiffany Crawford reports:
Operations at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner have ceased, leaving British Columbians with no independent office to hold the government accountable, says a leaked letter marked “Extremely Urgent” to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
The letter, sent Friday, is from the executive director of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Mary Carlson, and is addressed to Bill Barisoff.
She said staff have shut down the whole operation to avoid any legal issues that could arise from reviewing cabinet files or law-enforcement information.
[…]
The previous commissioner, David Loukidelis, resigned on Jan. 19. He will take over Feb. 1 as deputy attorney-general, replacing Allan Seckel.
Carlson said with his absence the delegation of powers, duties and functions “have lapsed . . . and no one in the office can make valid delegations until an acting commissioner is appointed.”
Read more in The Vancouver Sun.