Justice Department asked to release records in Clayton Cromwell's death
Nova Scotia's privacy commissioner has asked the provincial Justice Department to release records into Clayton Cromwell's death at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.
Cromwell, 23, died from a methadone overdose while in custody at the Burnside jail on April 7, 2014.
Privacy commissioner Catherine Tully released her review report on Monday. In it, she said the department redacted too much information from the records it released to a journalist under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Internal investigation report withheld
Aside from a few pages of partially released material in its January 2015 response, the department gave the journalist two copies of the medical distribution policy, four pages of emails, a memo with the terms of reference for the internal review and part of a letter of condolence.
The province withheld an internal investigation report, arguing that releasing the documents would harm law enforcement, pose a threat to health and safety and would be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy.
Michael Karanicolas, president of the Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia, said the exemption for law enforcement under the Act is meant to protect the administration of justice. But he said it not for the reputations of law enforcement or officials who are overseeing it (the administration of justice), and especially not to protect cases of wrongdoing.
Transparency and accountability needed
Karanicolas said Tully's criticism of the department is not surprising.
"What this exemplifies to me is another example of a department not only not taking its responsibilities for transparency and accountability seriously but resisting the sort of public accountability that we should expect in a democratic society," he said.
The department also claimed the records would disclose confidential policies and procedures.
Tully disagreed.
"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 around the time of the death," she wrote.
Tully recommended that the department conduct a line-by-line review of the withheld records to identify the small portions that are exempt because they contain personal information, and to release the remaining information.
Family's lawsuit still pending
Halifax lawyer Devin Maxwell is representing Clayton Cromwell's family in a lawsuit against the province. The case is still before the courts.
He said he welcomes the commissioner's recommendations.
Maxwell points out that the Act was brought in to Nova Scotia, and other provinces, to make government more transparent. But he said the result has been the opposite.
"I think that the government uses the Act now to find reasons not to disclose information and I don't think that was the purpose or intention of the Act in the first place," he said.
The family has already received investigation reports about the death from the Justice Department and Halifax Regional Police. Still, Maxwell said, the circumstances behind Cromwell's methadone overdose are unclear.
'I think there is definitely a public interest in having this information available to everybody so they know what's going on in jails and the government, certainly, is not forthcoming in turning over information."
John Scoville, the department chief superintendent responsible for the four adult provincial jails, said the department is reviewing Tully's recommendations and will decide what redacted information can be released. .
The privacy commissioner's order is non-binding. The department has 30 days to review it.
