What Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell alleged was a plot to spy on his work computer was actually standard security software installed on several municipal computers, Saanich council said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

The installation was part of an enhanced security effort known to councillors, the statement said.

article continues below

Saanich police said it would not recommend criminal charges because the security software was installed on several staff computers to manage “the integrity of the computer system.”

Atwell said he is “stunned” by the results of the review and maintains Saanich police are in a conflict of interest.

The software was installed in late November after a May 2014 independent audit of the District of Saanich computer system recommended the software to protect against external hacking threats as well as to monitor any “internal activity that may result from external threats.”

READ MORE:

The software was installed on Atwell’s computer the day after he was sworn in on Dec. 1.

“Since the software was installed on municipally owned computers to be used in the workplace, there was no reasonable expectation of privacy by employees,” the statement said.

Atwell made the spying allegations at a news conference Monday, along with allegations he has been unfairly targeted by traffic police from the Integrated Road Safety Unit and that Saanich police leaked details of a domestic dispute. He also admitted he lied when he said he wasn’t having an extramarital affair.

Atwell said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that he did not know the spyware was being installed and did not give consent.

On Dec. 15, Atwell complained to Saanich police about the spyware, Spector 360, which can monitor every keystroke and record screen images. The police initiated a review on Dec. 19, with the assistance of Dirk Ryneveld, a former B.C. police complaint commissioner. Police Chief Bob Downie presented the results to Atwell and councillors at an in-camera meeting Monday evening.

After Tuesday’s council statement, Atwell told reporters at municipal hall: “I am stunned by this statement. I can’t understand why Saanich police do not understand why they are in conflict of interest on this.” Atwell is asking the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to investigate. He left without taking questions.

Atwell is also asking the police complaint commissioner to look into whether Saanich police leaked details of the Dec. 11 domestic dispute to the media — the second OPCC investigation Atwell has sought against his municipality’s police department.

Atwell dismissed concerns his allegations have created mistrust between himself and councillors, the police department and municipal staff, saying: “I certainly have a good working relationship with the police and staff, and I expect that to continue.”

Coun. Leif Wergeland said he wonders what Atwell’s urgency was in having a news conference Monday when he could have had the answers he was seeking the next day. “It was to create a distraction,” Wergeland said.

Atwell said since he took office, he has not had a one-on-one meeting with Downie and has no plans for one.

After making the spying allegation on Monday, Atwell said he is setting up a private email account for his mayoral work and not using the office computer.

Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a statement: “The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to work-related emails sent to or received from the personal email accounts of public servants and public officials. While nothing in freedom-of-information law directly prohibits them from using personal email accounts, doing so can make it difficult to search for records responsive to an access request. In addition, the use of personal email can create privacy and security risks if personal information is accessed or stored outside of Canada, contrary to legal requirements.”

Coun. Judy Brownoff said she fears the spying allegations are distracting from Saanich business. “Council is doing their job, we were all elected. And we just want to get on with the business of council,” Brownoff said, speaking just after Atwell made his statement. “We have a number of issues out there … and we just can’t get to the business at hand. We want to move on with this stuff.”

kderosa@timescolonist.com

With a file from Cindy E. Harnett