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SRD cannot enforce use of official RD email addresses on directors

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) recently set up official emails for their elected directors.

However, some directors are opposed to using this form of communication.

“In order to provide a vehicle for the directors to communicate with constituents over SRD business, the SRD is obligated to provide, much like we do for staff, email addresses for them to communicate back and forth with staff and constituents,” said Dave Leitch, the SRD’s Chief Administrative Officer.

“There’s a mixed reaction because with the Regional District, you have directors that are from municipalities that are already provided email addresses through local government, and then there’s electoral area directors who have a history of using their own personal email addresses and some through a combination of both.”

The issue of using an official SRD email address was brought up at the RD’s meeting on November 7th, 2018.

Leitch said the use of an official SRD email is especially important when it comes to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

“When folks make an FOI request, in order for us to collect all that information, we have to have access to it, and if somebody’s using a personal email address, we don’t have access to their personal information,” he said.

“So, that’s kind of the purpose of fulfilling the FOI request is having access to the information to provide that to the individual that’s making the request.”

Leitch noted that although reaction has been mixed from SRD directors, staff is not able to enforce them to use the SRD-issued emails.

“What we do is staff provides them with the ability to use the SRD account, and if they do or not, that’s up to the individual director.”

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