Jerome Fitzgerald
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
DATA Protection Commissioner Sharmie Farrington-Austin has cautioned against the practice of obtaining private citizens’ correspondence and tabling them in the House of Assembly in response to several complaints regarding private emails that were recently tabled by Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald.
This, she, in a press statement, is “a most dangerous trend and leaves society open to chaos”.
Mrs. Farrington-Austin, however, revealed that none of the parties allegedly affected by the tabling of the emails has made any direct complaint to the Office of The Data Protection Commissioner.
Earlier this month, while contributing to the mid-year budget debate, Mr. Fitzgerald read from private emails exchanged between members of Save the Bays. These included Grand Bahama attorney Fred Smith, entertainer Kirkland “KB” Bodie, public relations specialist Dianne Philips, environmentalists Romauld Ferreira and Joseph Darville in addition to former Free National Movement Chairman and Senator Michael Pintard.
He later tabled the documents.
At the time, the Marathon MP claimed Save the Bays masquerades as an environmental watchdog group but has used million of dollars to “entrap” Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard in an alleged murder plot to ultimately “destabilize” the government.
In a joint statement released by Mr. Fitzgerald and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, the men said while they have no comment on the data protection commissioner’s personal views on this matter, “her statement and commentary in the absence of a formal complaint is indeed curious.” They also denied that either of them was party to any unauthorised access to emails.
In their statement, the MPs attempted to divert from concerns over how the emails were obtained by saying the point of focus should be “about a well-funded environmental organisation that is not about the environment, but Save The Bays is about politics and destabilising the government of The Bahamas and has spent millions of dollars to do so.”
“Let’s us not be distracted from that salient fact,” their statement continued.
Before Mr. Fitzgerald’s communication in the House, Mr. Mitchell also spoke at length accusing STB of funneling millions of dollars from billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon to fund a vicious campaign against the government.
In response to several complaints and inquiries regarding the private emails that were tabled, the data protection commissioner said the relevant data protection issue in this matter concerns whether anyone gained “unauthorised access” to the emails before they were tabled in the House of Assembly.
She said: “It is noteworthy that not one of the complainants provided this office with any evidence to assist this office in its investigations. Most importantly, none of the parties allegedly affected have made any direct complaint to the Office of The Data Protection Commissioner.
“The commissioner notes that there are several statements within the public domain outside of what has been tabled in the Parliament. The commissioner would have jurisdiction in respect to these matters if they involve the unauthorised disclosure of personal information.
“In seeking to deal with such matters, this office is also mindful of international best practices and other conventions that are likely to impact the matter before us for persuasive value.
“It is important to note that it appears that none of the statements within the public domain contains the said emails. I stand to be corrected.”
She continued: “It is my considered view that members of Parliament ought to be cognizant of the fact that members of the public expect that their members of Parliament will be held to the same standard as ordinary citizens in relation to the commission of a criminal offence.
“No citizen should be above the law. This office cautions against the practice of obtaining private citizens’ correspondence and tabling them in the House of Assembly. This, in my view is a most dangerous trend and opens up the society to chaos.
“Citizens have a right to expect that their private communications would enjoy the protection afforded them under the laws of the country.”
She further noted that documents tabled in the House of Assembly enjoy parliamentary privilege. Under section five of the Data Protection Privacy of Personal Information Act, she said deliberations of Parliament and parliamentary committees, are excluded. Therefore, the data protection commissioner is not the appropriate authority to make any rulings or comments with respect to the admissibility of correspondence in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Fitzgerald said the matter has also been referred to the House Committee on Privileges.
“The data commissioner herself recognises that the Act has no jurisdiction with regard to statements and documents laid in Parliament. We agree,” the joint statement read.
“Further, the matter has been formally referred to the Committee on Privileges and that committee has the power to send for persons and papers. We will cooperate with the committee of the House fully. It is the House committee that has complete jurisdiction over MPs. Let the public be assured that neither of us is a party to any ‘unauthorised’ access to e-mails.”
The MPs added: “This particular matter now rests with the police, the Office of the Attorney General with a view to a possible IRS investigation into the use of millions of dollars of tax exempt funds being used for political purposes in a foreign and sovereign country.
“It is ironic that the same people who were fighting for Freedom of Information and transparency are now running to court to stop the same freedom they were supposedly fighting for. What a difference a day makes. A bunch of self-righteous hypocrites,” they added.
Meanwhile, STB Chairman Joseph Darville has called the release of this information “a cowardly, cynical and sinister act calculated to silence and intimidate, while at the same time distracting from their own considerable political troubles.”
He said the MPs sought to attack STB in the most cowardly of manners, from behind the protection of parliamentary privilege where they are immune from legal action. Clearly, he said, they would not dare to do the same in the public street for fear of prosecution.
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