Provincial government documents that fell into the hands of Vancouver lawyers putatively revealing the inner workings of the controversial Immediate Roadside Prohibition tribunal will remain secret.
The B.C. Court of Appeal said the 19 pages — primarily unvetted email exchanges between a Ministry of Justice lawyer and RoadSafetyBC staff, in part instructing adjudicators how to rule in IRP cases — were protected by solicitor-client privilege.
“I am disappointed with this outcome, and we are considering our options at this stage and considering the implications of the decision,” said Kyla Lee, of Acumen Law Corp.
“Myself and the other lawyers in our office remain committed to ensuring the process for disputing immediate roadside prohibitions is fair, open, and transparent, and we will continue to do everything we can lawfully do to protect the rights of drivers in this province.”
Inadvertently released to her in Nov. 2015 under a Freedom of Information request, Lee shared the documents with colleagues at the firm that has been at the vanguard of opposition to the IRP regime.
Told of the mistake in December, Lee refused to recognize that the unredacted material was private and insisted its release was a waiver of solicitor-client privilege.
The government asked the B.C. Supreme Court to step in, accusing her of unprofessional conduct.
Read the interview with Kyla Lee on the Vancouver Sun:
http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/smoking-gun-roadside-prohibition-emails-protected-by-court