Breach of privacy

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You will be relieved to hear that the proper authorities in Cornwall have a rather important  “scrap of paper” in their possession.

You may recall that on 20 January 2007 John MacDonald attended the Cornwall Police Service to file charges of obstruction of justice against Cornwall Crown attorney Murray MacDonald and Justices Robert Pelletier and Peter Griffiths.  And that a few days later he discovered that the scrap piece of folded paper given him on his departure with contact names and phone numbers jotted down for his convenience was no scrap piece of paper at all.  On the reverse side of the page was computer-generated report with the name, identifying features and address of a Cornwall resident.

I now understand that the page is in fact a CPIC report, meaning it emanates comes from the Canadian Police Information Centre, a data base operated by the RCMP under the stewardship of the National Police Services. CPIC was created in 1966 to provide law enforcement agencies across the country information on “crimes and criminals.”  The information in the data base is obviously privileged and private.

The fact that this information was put into John’s hands is equally obviously a serious breech of an individual’s privacy.

After a degree of ado the “scrap” paper is mercifully out of John’s hands and back with the Cornwall police.  Initially John was contacted by Cornwall Public Inquiry lead investigator John Spice who had allegedly been asked by Garry Derochie (Cornwall police) to ask John to turn it in.  Believing this was Cornwall police and not inquiry business, John asked that he be contacted by Derochie.

Derochie contacted John on Friday 09 February.  According to John, Derochie ‘asked if they could discuss returning that piece of paper that came into your possession 20 January 2007.’  Rightly or wrongly John felt Derochie was nervous, expecting a fight on his hands and seemed shocked when John said he would turn it over the following day.

Arrangements were made to meet at the station.

The following morning John arrived at the police station. Derochie, although off duty, was there to meet him. The page was turned over.  John asked for and received a receipt which read “10 February 2007: Received from John MacDonald CPIC printout dated 20 January 2007 9:17:13 am.”

Derochie told John that an investigation regarding the incident is under way, to submit a bill for his gas, and that, because of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act police are now obligated to contact the individual identified on the report.

A final note.  John tells me that he was given Derochie’s business card.  Derochie apparently noted that on the card he, Derochie, is identified as head of the Cornwall police CIB (Criminal Investigation Bureau) but he has in fact been seconded to the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

This raises some rather serious questions:

(1) In what capacity has Derochie been seconded to an inquiry which is presumably inquiring into the response of the CPS to sexual abuse allegations?  Derochie working hand-in-glove with the inquiry investigative team would be a serious conflict of interest.

(2) Why is the Cornwall Public Inquiry handling this CPS breach of privacy?

John of course has been unwittingly been drawn into this mess.  The paper was put into his hands by police.  He did not ask for it. Now he finds himself smack dab in the midst of a major police foul up.

When asked if he would be pulled back into it Derochie allegedly told John only if there is going to be discipline.

Only?!

Enough for now,

Sylvia
(cornwall@theinquiry.ca)

This entry was posted in Accused or charged, Canada, Circling the wagons, John MacDonald, Scandal and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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