Preserving government text messages is easy, Green MLA tells legislature

P.E.I. Green Party MLA Hannah Bell went after the government in question period Wednesday for details on what measures it has taken to preserve text messages regarding official government business.

The province's auditor general pointed out during her investigation into egaming the province was not archiving direct messages. Some of the information she wanted was erased.

Bell told the legislature the solution is easy and wanted to know if the government had acted on it.

"One of the reasons given for not tracking Blackberry messages is that it is very difficult to access messages that are on someone else's Blackberry. In reality, all Blackberry PIN and SMS messages can be logged with a flick of the switch on the server," she said.

"Will you commit to investigating this technology to help resolve the issue of ministers and staff destroying government records?"

Jordan Brown, the minister responsible for the records management system, said the province has hired new employees to oversee the records management system and educate employees about what needs to be kept.

Brown did not speak with reporters after question period.

His department followed upin an email saying a three-year project is underway. It will ensure the Archives and Records Act is being followed.

It added that it is content of a message that determines whether it is public record, not the medium used to transmit it.

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