County councillors to debate electronic privacy
by Richard Blanchard

Simcoe County councillors will debate an electronic privacy motion next month.

Collingwood deputy mayor Sandra Copper introduced the motion at the end of last week's county council meeting which asks for "council to direct staff to prepare a policy regarding the investigation of electronic correspondence such that no member of council may instruct staff to read another member's correspondence, including email, or to view any associated activity logs for that correspondence, without the prior written permission of that member."

Copper's motion comes after Collingwood's mayor Chris Carrier reviewed his council member's email, without their prior permission, to see if they were sending inappropriate emails during council meetings.

Carrier subsequently apologized for his actions to his fellow councillors.

Copper noted that the "public's faith and confidence in its government is in part based on respect for and attention to that right to privacy."