An investigation has concluded that Board of Regents Chair Glenn Barnes violated the privacy of a MUN Alumna by forwarding her pro-divestment email to her father. As a result, privacy training has been recommended MUN’s Information Access and Privacy (IAP) Office.
Late Friday afternoon, Memorial announced that an IAP investigation has determined there was “an unauthorised disclosure of an email” by a “member of the Board of Regents” with reference to “recent media reports.” By the university’s definition, this is a privacy breach.
MUN has reported the incident to the NL Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Access to information request comes back empty
Memorial is a public body, and emails sent as part of the Board of Regents’ business are subject to the Access to Information Act. MUN Students for Palestine (MUN S4P) filed an access to information request for emails Barnes sent or forwarded in response to the divestment email campaign. The IAP said they have no records to provide.
The IAP asked Barnes to provide the requested emails. However, he informed them that he was experiencing technical issues with his email and was unable to provide any records. It is unclear if this issue also affected the IAP investigation.
MUN S4P filed a complaint with the NL Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner seeking the records. In their complaint, they say that “the content of the email we have suggests that there are additional breaches,” referring to when Barnes wrote that he is “telling parents that I know just what their kids are doing.”
In response to the complaint, an Access and Privacy Analyst from the provincial office says their investigation into the complaint is ongoing.
Code of Conduct review underway
The Board of Regents is also reviewing the incident “through the processes set out in the Board of Regents’ code of conduct.” In the case of potential non-compliance by the Chair, the Vice-Chair, alumni representative Anik Rahman, has “the power to make a resolution to the Board for a recommended course of action.”
Possible outcomes of the Board of Regents review outlined in the code include a warning, a temporary suspension, or termination.
The sections of the code that could be relevant to the review are Confidentiality and Respect: “Members are expected to respect the confidentiality of any materials provided as part of their duties as a Member of the Board,”
and “Members will recognize the diverse views, opinions, and experiences of Members and the University Community and look to build and support a culture free of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation.”
At the time of publication, Glenn Barnes has not responded to request for comment, but in a previous statement provided by Media Relations Manager Chad Pelley, he said that he was “committed to participating in the investigative process and will not be speaking publicly on this matter.”