B.C. government cleared by privacy commissioner on Mount Polley – Mining.com

July 2, 2015

The B.C. government did not fail in its duty to proactively disclose concerns that had been raised over the Mount Polley tailings pond, B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Dunham has concluded.

However, Dunham also ruled that there need not be any urgency – like an imminent threat to public safety – for the government to proactively disclose information that is in the interest of the public, and issued a clarification of section 25 (1) (a) of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

“With today’s report, I have concluded that urgent circumstances are no longer required to trigger proactive disclosure where there is a clear public interest in disclosure of the information,” Dunham said in a press release July 2.

On August 4, 2014 a perimeter dam surrounding Mount Polley’s tailings collapsed, pouring 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of mine waste slurry into Polley Lake and local streams.

Read More: http://www.mining.com/web/b-c-government-cleared-by-privacy-commissioner-on-mount-polley/