Deputy mayor insists town wants 'good policy' for bodycams as privacy commissioner investigates

The deputy mayor of Happy Valley-Goose Bay says he welcomes theinvestigationinto the town's useof body cameras by municipal enforcement officers despiteNewfoundland and Labrador's privacy commissioner previously saying he needed questions about the policy to be answered.

"We want to make sure we have a good policy that's sound, and that other municipalities in the province can emulate that policy on a go forward basis," saidDeputy Mayor Bert Pomeroyearlier this week.

But the issue of body cameras being used by the municipality prompted questions from Michael Harvey, the privacy and information commissioner, months ago.

When he couldn't get the information or answers to those questions from members of the town council, Harveytold CBC News on Dec. 3that he "decided itwould be best if I moved our interactions into a formal investigation."

"We have been giving advice to the town, but in an investigation my recommendations can, depending on what they are about, take on a greater legal force," he said. "Do they have all the safeguards in place in order to do that?Those are the questions we need answered."

There are only a handful of police forcesacross the countrythat use body cameras.

Pomeroy, for his part, insisted thattown representatives"reached out" as soon as council realized there were issues with communication.

He said the town is trying to find a way to build a better relationship with the privacy commissioner's office, and to work together to make the bodycam policy sound.

"We were going through that process, and that's ongoing, and hopefully we'll be in a positionvery soononce this investigation is over, and the recommendationscome forward based on the investigation, and we'll implement the changes according to the policy to make it the best policy we can get," he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

Harveysaid among his concerns arewhether or not the expected benefits of the camera outweigh the impact on an individual's privacy.

He said privacy laws in Canada use a principle that states the minimumnecessary information that should be used for legal purposes.

Harvey added that while he is formally investigating the issue, there is no allegation of malicious behaviour.

"That is not the nature of what is happening here."

Arrest investigation

Meanwhile, the investigation into an aggressive arrest of an Inuk man who was thrown to the ground while handcuffed by a municipal enforcement officer continues.

The arrest, which happened in October,was captured on video and shared widely on social media.

The town placed the officer on administrative duty while the investigation took place.

Pomeroy said the officer is still on administrative duty, but having one less officer in the community is causing some problems.

"We're getting more complaints that are coming in, some issues that are not being dealt with," he said.

"Not having a municipal enforcement officer actively engaged in his duties has been a challenge, and I think the community is noticing that."

Buttheyneed to let the process take its course, he said.

"We are in the situation we're in, and we need to make the best of it and we need to work with whoever we need to work with to get to the end of this."

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