Thompson-Nicola Regional District chair Ken Gillis defended his decision not to share a whistleblower letter to the board in a statement on Feb. 14, 2022.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/TNRD

A Thompson Nicola Regional District whistleblower wrote a letter with allegations against their former top employee on the condition only the board chair would read it.

"You should also know that the writer told me: 'This is for your eyes only,'" board chair Ken Gillis wrote in a statement to media this morning, Feb. 14.

The whistleblower's letter was presented to the regional district board in December 2021, nearly two years after it was given to Gillis on Jan. 29, 2020.

The letter was briefly mentioned in a forensic audit report. According to auditors BDO Canada, it explained "numerous allegations" against former chief administrative officer Sukh Gill, and auditors focused on its spending concerns.

READ MORE: TNRD whistleblower letter went to board two years later

The whistleblower did not explain why the letter should remain strictly addressed to him but Gillis added that it could have been leaked if passed on the the rest of the 25 regional district directors.

"It troubles me greatly to see that appears to be precisely what came to pass, after the letter came to the board," Gillis wrote. “Speaking generally, whistleblowers in public institutions seek confidentiality and protection for good reason. One of those reasons may be, and often is, that not every piece of the information they provide is provable. If the information or their identity is revealed in the meantime, it can expose the person and the organization to serious repercussions, including legal liability. That is not good for anyone, including the taxpayers."

Last week, Gillis told iNFOnews.ca he could not acknowledge a whistleblower letter even exists, based on legal advice.

Prior to September 2020, the regional district did not have either a whistleblower or a correspondence policy in place that would deal with such letters. Gillis followed the rules as they are now set out in the current policies.

Any complaints directly made regarding the chief administrative officer, the regional district's top employee, should be made to the board chair, according to the district's disclosure policy.

READ MORE: Calls for TNRD board chair to resign starting to add up

It does not explain whether the board chair should bring a complaint to the rest of the board but it does add that the person making the report should treat it as "strictly confidential." A policy for correspondence to individual board members stipulates the recipient can determine whether or not that letter should be shared with others.

In the fallout of the forensic audit report, an RCMP investigation and the whistleblower letter withheld from the rest of the board, at least three directors have called for Gillis to resign from his position, which he was re-elected to in a secret ballot in November 2021.

"I will not apologize for protecting the identity and information of someone who came to me, and to me alone, in the strictest confidence. And I fully intend to complete my term as (board) chair of the (regional district)," Gillis wrote.

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