B.C.’s privacy commissioner has been asked to investigate concerns about an external review of the Ministry of Children and Family Development by retired deputy minister Bob Plecas.
Elizabeth Denham’s office confirmed Monday that it has received a complaint about the review, but offered no further comment.
Plecas was hired last month to review the ministry’s handling of a high-profile sex-abuse case.
In that case, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker found that social workers ignored or misled the courts and allowed a sexually abusive father unsupervised access to his four children.
The government has appealed Walker’s decision.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s representative for children and youth, said the children’s mother, identified as J.P. in court documents, objects to Plecas and any subcontractors being given access to her personal information in government files.
“J.P. is very stressed about her privacy interests and that external contractors to government will now see all of her files,” said Turpel-Lafond, who is advocating for the mother and her children.
“She has taken a complaint to the privacy and information commissioner, and she has been very clear with my office that she does not consent to that process.”
Turpel-Lafond said she also continues to have “deep, deep concerns” about the Plecas review.
“Offering him, as an external contractor and anyone he may hire, access to her private files — including personal information in those files about domestic violence, sexual abuse and her mental health — was extremely unwise and not in the best interests of the children,” she said.
“I have deep concerns about the morality of that process, not to mention the impact that it will have on these children.”
Surrey lawyer Jack Hittrich, who is acting for the mother, also voiced concerns about the Plecas review, calling it “highly disrespectful” to the rule of law.
Hittrich said the judge spent about 275 days on the case over five years and made extensive findings of fact.
“Mr. Plecas is not a judge and not the Court of Appeal,” Hittrich said in a statement last week. “It is not open to Mr. Plecas to retry these grave judicial findings or to share J.P.’s private information with his subcontractors.”
Plecas said Monday that he is busy putting the review together and will address the privacy concerns this week.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development said in a brief statement that it “fully anticipated” that privacy issues would be raised with the commissioner’s office.
“We take privacy interests seriously and since there has now been a complaint filed with [the commissioner], it would be inappropriate to comment further until that is resolved other than noting we will be co-operating with that office,” it said.
