Allegations of privacy breach 'not an offence' says P.E.I. chief electoral officer

P.E.I.'s Chief Electoral Officer Tim Garrity can't conduct an investigation into allegations of information sharing between the PR Coalition and the Green Party of P.E.I., he says, providing two reasons in a letter to Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker.

First, Garrity says he does not have the authority to investigate.

"Under the Elections Expenses Act, Section 4 does indicate the investigative authority of the Chief Electoral Officer but it is limited to the Election Expenses Act itself," Garrity wrote in the letter, which Bevan-Baker made public Monday.

Secondly, he said, there has not been a violation of either the Elections Act or the Elections Expenses Act.

"The allegations in question are not related to the Election Expenses Act and are also not an offence under the Elections Act in regards to the use of the list of electors as defined in the Act," Garrity wrote.

Last week, PC MLA Darlene Compton raised allegations during question period that the Green Party had obtained personal voter information from the PR Coalition during the recent District 11 byelection. Both the Greens and the coalition have denied this.

No jurisdiction to investigate

On Friday, Compton and fellow PC Steven Myers asked the Speaker to rule their privileges had been breached as MLAs, saying they faced online threats of legal action from members of the coalition.

Those members have denied their comments were meant as threats.

Bevan-Baker also asked P.E.I. privacy commissioner Karen Rose to investigate — but her letter to him is marked "private and confidential," so he won't share it.

Rose has said in the past she only has jurisdiction to investigate a potential privacy breach if it involves a government entity. She told CBC that political parties, private corporations and any other non-governmental organizations are not covered under P.E.I.'s privacy laws.

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