(This story was expanded since it was first posted April 26.)
A Vancouver civic worker is accusing city hall and the head of a group representing community centre associations with breaching his privacy.
Milan Kljajic, who is also the president of the Kensington Community Centre Association, alleged in an April 25 letter by lawyer Dean Davison that Grandview Community Centre Association, its president Kate Perkins and the Association Presidents Group which she chairs breached the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Personal Information Protection Act.
Kljajic is also questioning whose side Perkins is on.
At issue is a Dec. 3, 2012 email exchange between Perkins and David Sexton, the Renfrew Community Centre Association president, under the subject "Our friend Milan." The email was copied to the "kccapresident@gmail.com" account of Stephen Elliott-Buckley, Kljajics predecessor.
A 1:27 p.m. message attributed to Perkins said: "I just saw (as I sit as Penny's mole) that Milan also works for the City must be in sanitation with Alex." A 1:44 p.m. message attributed to Perkins listed Kljajics City of Vancouver email address and said "hes a truck driver for the city."
Penny is believed to be city manager Penny Ballem. Neither Perkins nor Ballem have responded to requests for comment. The allegations are unproven.
Davisons letter claimed that Perkins accessed Kljajic's personal information via her civic employment. The title column on the publicly available Quick Find directory reads "cart warehouse" on Kljajics entry. The internal staff directory, however, shows Kljajics title as "Truck Driver I."
Perkins, Davisons letter said, "appears to also be a city employee and was so at the relevant time, as her public, online profile indicates that she worked for the city in 2012. Additionally, Perkins was and is a member of the Board of Directors of Trout Lake and is the representative of the APG."
Perkins LinkedIn profile lists her as the "conduit between Park Board/COV and 23 Vancouver Community Centres." She was the City of Vancouver coordinator for Pride 2012 and, for five months in 2011, community outreach coordinator for the civic election office.
Davison demanded an immediate response from the city, Grandview (aka Trout Lake), Perkins and the APG "outlining their involvement, knowledge, and direction of the obvious breach of privacy." Davison also wants to know what corrective actions will be taken to prevent a repeat breach.
"I can't comment on the situation with the privacy breach or with my employer and/or my union but I can say that I am well represented with CUPE 1004 chief steward Alex Bruse and a high ranking steward," Kljajic said in an emailed statement. "My union will be investigating this ongoing situation."
Kljajic opposes the citys plan to centralize control of the 23 community centres and redistribute revenues to so-called "have not" community centres. His attempt to speak at the Feb. 27 park board meeting was thwarted when he was warned by the city human resources department that he risked violating the code of conduct. The code allows employees to engage in political activity, "so long as it does not impair, or is not perceived as impairing, the employees ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner."
Opponents of the centralization are crying foul over the April 18 Kitsilano Community Centre Association annual general meeting. They claim the meeting was hijacked by those sympathetic with the centralization plan.
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