Premier shouldn't question privacy commissioner, justice critic says

Opposition Justice and Public Safety criticJamie Fox is opposing the Liberal government's decision to take the province's privacy commissioner to court.

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The MacLauchlan government ischallengingtwo of privacy commissioner Karen Rose's rulings which saidthe province improperly disclosed thepersonal information.

"We trust people like the privacy commissioner to do a job independently from government," Fox said.

"Here we have the Premier stepping in and questioning the role of her, basically, and her judgements, and her rulings which in turn is affecting the privacy of information on Islanders."

Commissioner's officealready over budget

He believes Rose was correct in her rulingsand that government taking her to court is further burdening the commissioner's already overspentbudget as well as taking her away from other work she could be doing.

"We have an individual that has a very limited budget if we continually put things before the court questioning her authority or her rulings than of course it's going to diminish her ability to make decisions on a just basis," Fox said.

A spokesperson for the privacy commissioner's office told CBC News last month that as of September the office had already overspent its legal budget of $16,000 for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2018.

"At the end of the day, I think it's just another attempt by government to question people that are put in positions of trust that are making good judgement and good questions and good answers on behalf of islanders."

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