The Nova Scotia Information and Privacy Commissioner has issued a rebuke of the province’s justice department over its lack of transparency and asked that it release records relating to the death of Clayton Cromwell.
Cromwell, 23, was found unresponsive April 7, 2014, in his cell at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Halifax.
A medical examiner’s report later determined that Cromwell died accidentally from an overdose of methadone.
At the time, Cromwell’s death was the fourth death in custody since July 2011.
READ MORE: Minister promises Halifax jail death report
In her report, Catherine Tully says that the Department of Justice inappropriately redacted documents in response to a request made under the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) Act.
According to the report, in December 2014 a journalist had requested internal reports created in response to Cromwell’s death.
In its January 2015 response, the department released two copies of its medical distribution policy, four pages of partially redacted emails, a memo with the terms of reference for the internal review and a portion of a letter of condolence.
The department refused to release its internal report, citing an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, threats to health and safety and harm to law enforcement.
As the journalist said that they were not interested in the names in the documents Tully only examined the harm to law enforcement exemption — which saw the government argue that the records, if disclosed, would reveal confidential policies and procedures and redact a large amount of the records.
WATCH: Overdoses in NS jails calls for Naloxone
But Tully disagrees.
“To be clear, the records do not include copies of the confidential policies or procedures, instead they consist of the internal investigation report and appendices to the report that include information identified in the terms of reference and other documentation specifically related to activities of Correctional Services staff and offenders at and around the time of death,” she wrote in her report.
Tully also said that that correctional staff were not carrying out policing duties as part of their report and therefore did not fall under the law enforcement exemption.
Tully says that it appeared the Department of Justice did not follow one of the most important rules of FOIPOP, that “every single page and every single line on each page must be read and evaluated” on whether it satisfies a legal exemption.
As a result, the commissioner has requested that the Department of Justice conduct a “line by line” review of the documents and then release them.
READ MORE: 2 correctional officers charged in 2015 death of N.B. inmate
Devin Maxwell, is a lawyer representing Cromwell’s mother and grandmother in a lawsuit against the province said he welcomes the report and the recommendations from the commissioner.
“My sense is that the government looks for reasons and excuses not to produce information,” he said.
“I’m glad the privacy commissioner is holding the government responsible in its obligations to produce this type of information.”
The lawsuit, which alleges negligence in Cromwell’s death, is currently before the courts.
Department responds
In a statement, the Department of Justice said they thank Tully for her report.
“We have received it and will consider her recommendations,” said Sarah Gillis, a spokesperson for the department, in an email.
Tully’s recommendations are non-binding as she is not an officer of the legislature and therefore has no enforcement power.
“Public bodies can simply choose to ignore the Commissioner’s recommendations,” Tully wrote in a report released last year that detailed how powerless her office is.
The Department of Justice has 30 days to respond to Tully’s recommendations.
Comments