REGINA – The office of Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner has officially launched an investigation into an alleged privacy breach by the premier’s office.
Peter Bowden, a health care aide who went public on March 30 with concerns about the Saskatoon care home he works at, accused Premier Brad Wall and his chief of operations and communications, Kathy Young, of leaking information about his personnel file to reporters.
Bowden was suspended with pay on April 20, but the government says it was unrelated to his whistleblowing efforts. The majority of complaints against Bowden appear to have been filed after he visited the legislature in March.
Young provided information about complaints against Bowden prior to the media learning about his suspension. Bowden claims he didn’t see the allegations the premier’s office was aware of until four days later.
Health Minister Dustin Duncan says his office will cooperate with the investigation.
“I’m not going to preclude what may come out of that process but we’ll play our part in that review and see what happens after that,” Duncan said.
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Both Duncan and Wall have said the details were provided on a “general” and “background” basis and were in the public interest to ensure health care workers know they can still come forward with complaints about the workplace.
In an e-mail addressed to Bowden, the privacy commissioner’s office said it will be looking into the government’s Executive Council, the Ministry of Health, the Saskatoon Health Region and Oliver Lodge, which is where Bowden worked as a care aide.
Penalties for breaking Saskatchewan’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act can range from fines to jail time.
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