LETTER – Whistleblower specified that letter was only for TNRD board chair
TNRD board Chair Ken Gillis.
Statement today (Feb. 14, 2022) from Ken Gillis, chair of the TNRD board, with respect to a whistleblower letter and media coverage of it:
As you have seen, the letter referred to in local media was addressed to me personally, and not to the Board. You should also know that the writer told me: “This is for your eyes only”. The writer made it clear that that was the specific condition upon which the information was being provided.
The whistleblower did not say why. However, one can understand this person fearing that, if the letter were provided to the Board, it would be leaked. It troubles me greatly to see that appears to be precisely what came to pass, after the letter came to the Board in December of 2021.
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 proveable. 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.
So 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 Chair of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Board.
KENNETH GILLIS
Chair, TNRD
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Despite being for “his eyes only” Mr. Gillis owed to the taxpayers to start investigating and not look the other way. I think at the very minimum he should be reimbursing the severance Gill got. Other directors may pitch in to show they care…truly care that was….