REGINA — A former Regina Board of Police Commissioners member is calling on the attorney general of Saskatchewan to look into potential legal action against Regina Police Service (RPS) Const. Clinton Duquette.
Duquette was found accessing the personal information of six people 67 times. This occurred over three years, according to a report from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC).
The report recommended that “the matter be conveyed to the attorney general of Saskatchewan for an opinion with respect to prosecution pursuant to section 56(2) of LA FOIP (The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act).”
Andrew Stevens, who launched a petition demanding police accountability, is hopeful Minister of Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod will look into the matter.
“[He] should take this seriously and should actually implement [this] and require to be implemented the recommendations that the privacy commissioner put forward in the report.”
Under the act, an offence could include a fine of $50,000 or upwards of a year in jail.
Stevens said the offence is a justified measure, based on the commission’s findings and feedback from the public.
“This is a significant breach of trust. This is not an insignificant or isolated incident. And I think it needs to be treated accordingly.”
In early February, RPS Chief Lorilee Davies said this recommendation, along with seven others from the report, were already enacted or in the process.
However, the OIPC’s recommendation on “permanently revoke offending officers’ access to the internal database” would not be enforced by the police service.
“I respectfully disagree with [revoking access] on the basis that permanent revocation of access to [our database] would effectively prevent an employee from performing their core duties, and that would amount to dismissal,” explained Davies.
Stevens flagged this as a big concern.
“That tells me that it’s not being taken seriously. And the fact that this is not isolated either here in Regina or elsewhere in Canada, it’s startling.”
Recently, former RPS officer Robert Semenchuck was sentenced to two years to be served in the community, followed by three years of probation, after being found to have used the police computer system for more than eight years to contact 33 women.
With two recent incidents, Stevens said he would not be surprised if additional cases come forward.
“I suspect it’s probably taking place, not infrequently, and that the challenge is actually just catching someone in the act.”
SaskToday reached out to McLeod for a response. In a written statement, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s office said McLeod’s position ensures no bias is involved, meaning he shouldn’t be involved in individual cases.
As for looking into prosecution for Duquette, the office explained that its consent is required before it can dive into any case.
“In such cases, public prosecutions first conducts a review of the investigation to consider all admissible evidence and the applicable legislation to assess whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction and whether it is in the public interest to proceed. Prosecutors must conduct this assessment independently, objectively, and based solely on admissible evidence.”
The Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s office also noted that the public prosecution wouldn’t disclose whether it is reviewing or has received a specific file.
