When is it appropriate for politicians to use personal email? When they are engaging in personal communication. Period.
Anything associated with their positions as elected public representatives must be part of the public record. That means the strictly mandated use of email addresses that is officially monitored, recorded and preserved.
Most people are aware of the recent American controversy involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her use of personal email for official purposes, and the subsequent deletion of some of that communication.
It is a prime example of why there must be clear direction for all Canadian politicians in terms of maintaining and protecting the public record.
Queried by The News about a recent Facebook post in which he suggested someone contact him via his personal email rather than his public address, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun acknowledged it was a debatable choice.
Obviously, not all email correspondence received by politicians should be, or needs to be, made public.
However, the information contained in official city hall email may eventually form part of an important political decision or conduct.
At that point, the public right to know may take precedent over privacy, as legislated under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.
Braun suggests city hall may look at forming social media policy for council.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are generally public, and are useful tools for politicians to communicate with their electorate. Hence, they shouldn’t be stifled through policy.
However, clear rules about the public record are imperative for emails in which a politician is serving in his or her elected role.
