B.C.’s information and privacy commissioner is investigating whether the theft of two laptops from North Saanich municipal offices constitutes a privacy breach.
The laptops of chief administrative officer Rob Buchan and manager of corporate services Curt Kingsley were stolen sometime between late Saturday, after the municipal election ended, and early Monday.
Sidney/North Saanich RCMP and municipal staff said it’s too early to tell whether the theft was related to the Nov. 15 election.
District of North Saanich staff contacted the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner on Thursday. Cara McGregor, a spokeswoman for privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham, confirmed staff are looking into the incident to determine whether there was any sensitive information on the laptops.
Buchan said Friday there was a potential for a privacy breach, but the laptops did not contain any files on property, personal property-tax information, or employees.
“The laptops were in a locked building and are password protected, and did not contain the district’s property, tax or personnel files,” said a public notice on the district’s website. “The district has prevented all access to the district’s computer systems from the laptops and we can confirm that there has been no unauthorized access from the stolen laptop computers to these files.”
Sidney/North Saanich RCMP were alerted to the break-in on Monday morning and are investigating.
Outgoing councillor Craig Mearns said the mayor and council received an email this week informing them of the theft and letting them know they might be contacted by police.
“It was a strange deal. I don’t know why anyone would steal the damn things,” Mearns said, adding the laptops have little monetary value.
Buchan’s and Kingsley’s offices are in the basement of the municipal hall, near a back entrance that leads to the employee parking lot.
Mearns said the timing of the theft, shortly after the election, “seems a little odd.”
“It’s always a concern when something is stolen and we don’t know what kind of information is on there,” he said.
Re-elected North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall is having knee surgery and has been unavailable for comment.
