No answers, no culprits in leaked letter investigation

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The results of an investigation into how a letter sent by Tsuu T'ina First Nation band member Bruce Starlight to Indian Affairs minister Jane Stewart ended up in the hands of Tsuu T'ina chief Roy Whitney have produced more questions than answers.

Ron Newman, the security officer with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, presented his investigation report on Feb. 26. Newman concluded the 10 page report by saying that, "Collected facts in this investigation do not permit the identification of the individual who released a copy of the Bruce Starlight letter to Chief Whitney."

No information uncovered in the investigation placed any direct blame for the leak with minister Stewart or staff of Indian Affairs.

Barring any further information coming to light, the investigation is closed.

The letter in question was faxed by Starlight on Oct. 20 last year, and contained allegations of mismanagement by the Tsuu T'ina chief. A copy of the letter was provided anonymously to the chief in mid November.

Chief Whitney then took action to sue Starlight for libel.

Starlight said the lack of action coming from the investigation report was anticipated.

"I'm not surprised by it," Starlight said. "I didn't expect anything positive from them."

Starlight and his supporters don't give the report any credibility.

"It was just a waste of time as far as I'm concerned," Starlight said, adding that one federal department investigating another federal department is anything but impartial.

"It's like asking the coyote to say who ate the chickens while the coyote is hiccuping. . . It was just a farce," he said. "I would have liked to have the Privacy Commission do its own investigation and a private firm hired to do it - Either that or the RCMP, then it would be little more thorough. But the way it is, it doesn't look like they put any effort into it."

Roy Littlechief, with the Committee Against Injustices to Natives, an Alberta Aboriginal organization which has been backing Starlight, is also skeptical of the report, the process it took and minister Stewart's handling of it.

"The problem came from the civil service within her department and she went and appointed someone from the civil service to do the investigation," Littlechief said. "She wasn't too sincere about the investigation."

Kelly Ronan, Stewart's press secretary, said that when the leak was discovered the department treated it very seriously. They went straight to the RCMP, but were told to handle it internally.

"Upon learning that there was a disclosure of Starlight's letter, one of the first things that we did was contact the RCMP to advise them of the disclosure," Ronan said. "They informed us that it was a matter for the department to deal with."

Although their own investigation did not turn up a specific individual, it did make a series of recommendations to better secure sensitive material coming into the department. The recommendations included educating departmental staff on the handling of sensitive documents, developing procedures to deal with sensitive documents, using secured fax machines, better tracking of letters within the department and tightening up security in the department to prevent any future leaks.

With all these changes called for, Starlight said his letter has opened up a can of worms about the department's current security status.

"What concerns me is what were the rules before," Starlight said.

adding that if staff members within the department were not required to take an oath of secrecy, then common etiquette should have dictated that information not be leaked. "I mean that's a given. It's like they don't care."

Preston Manning, the leader of the Reform Party, has also sided with Starlight. Manning has asked the government's Privacy Commissioner to investigate the apparent breach of the Privacy Act.

Under the act, personal information under the control of the government about an individual and his/her views about someone else annot be released b the government without the consent of the individual. Anyone wanting to gain access to any individual's personal information must make an official request through the Access to Information Act. The Privacy Commission must then approve the request before the information is released.

In the case of Whitney, all reports indicate that he was not aware of the letter until it was leaked to him and he did not make a request for access to information.

Whitney, however, has not been available for comment.

The Privacy Commissioner's report is expected to be released in the upcoming months.

Starlight is still looking for assistance in fighting the legal battle against Whitney. As of the Alberta Sweetgrass deadline, it appeared that the government was considering paying for the legal costs.

The Indian Affairs department is discussing whether or not they will assist Starlight. They will contact him to work out any details.

The department also confirmed that minister Stewart has attempted to contact Starlight directly to inform him about the findings of the investigation and the possibility of financial assistance.

Starlight said he suspects any financial support he receives from the minister may require him to remain quiet. He also feels that Whitney's case against him is being funded by government money. Officials at Indian Affairs said the Tsuu T'ina band has agreed to pay for the legal case with band funds.

The Starlight camps sees that as an improper use of government resourses.

Whether or not this case even gets to court, supporters of Starlight are pleased that the incident has put focus onto the workings of Indian Affairs and the accountability of government and band councils toward reserve members.

"What we're hoping. . . is that there be a total investigation of Indian Affairs," Littlechief said. "We're hoping that the authority of chief and council be stripped and find a solution to accountability where the people will be involved and whee the chief and council willhave to be accountable to the people."

The Committee Against Injustices to Natives has set up a defense fund for Starlight's and is accepting donations at any Calgary branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia.