N.L. information and privacy commissioner resigning to take same post in B.C.

CBC
·2 min read
Michael Harvey was appointed information and privacy commissioner for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2019. He is leaving the job in May, five years into a six-year term. (CBC - image credit)
Michael Harvey was appointed information and privacy commissioner for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2019. He is leaving the job in May, five years into a six-year term. (CBC - image credit)

Newfoundland and Labrador's information and privacy watchdog is leaving the post early next month to take the same job in another province.

In a press release issued Thursday afternoon, Michael Harvey said he will be appointed information and privacy commissioner of British Columbia, effective May 6 — a day after his resignation from his current post takes effect.

Harvey said it has been "a great privilege" to serve in the role in Newfoundland and Labrador.

He was appointed to a six-year term in 2019.

"The rights of access to information and privacy are fundamental for our democratic governance and our way of life. As we advance onward into the Information Age, the context for these rights is becoming ever more complex," Harvey said.

"I encourage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to value and protect their access and privacy rights and to advocate for their enhancement."

Harvey joined the provincial civil service in 2006, working his way up to serve as an assistant deputy minister of health.

After taking on the role of information and privacy watchdog, he clashed at times with the Furey administration.

The Liberal government went to court to stop Harvey from continuing to investigate the 2021 cyberattack, citing his past positions of responsibility in the Department of Health.

Harvey ultimately recused himself, and turned over the handling of that probe to other senior staff in his office.

Harvey was also critical of the Newfoundland and Labrador government for deciding not to share draft legislation to get input on privacy implications before tabling it.

He issued a special report to the House of Assembly last fall highlighting that lack of consultation.

And Harvey unsuccessfully called for the government to step in and restore oversight powers stripped away by the courts.

The commissioner runs an independent office of the House of Assembly that provides oversight of privacy issues and investigates complaints from people who believe they have been wrongly denied access to government information.

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