Embattled Thompson-Nicola Regional District board chair Ken Gillis is defending his decision to withhold a letter from his colleagues for nearly two years, citing whistleblower protection.

According to Kamloops This Week – which broke the initial story about spending under former CAO Sukh Gill that let to a BDO Canada forensic audit – Gillis was given a letter from a whistleblower in Jan. 2020, two weeks prior to Gill leaving the TNRD with a $520,000 severance package and an agreement that his departure be called a ‘retirement.’

In a statement this morning, Gillis says the letter – which reportedly detailed allegations against Sukh Gill – was addressed to him and not the board.

“The writer made it clear that that was the specific condition upon which the information was being provided,” Gillis said. “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.”

“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.”

In his statement, Gillis went on to say that whistleblowers often seek confidentiality and protection for a variety of reasons.

“One of those reasons may be, and often is, that not every piece of the information they provide is proveable,” Gillis said.

“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.”

According to the TNRD’s whistleblower policy, which came into effect in Sept. 2020, any complaints directly made regarding the chief administrative officer, should go to the board chair or another member of the board.

“The person who reported the alleged serious misconduct should not, outside of regular work contact, interact with the subject of the report or attempt to investigate the allegations further for any reason,” the TNRD whistleblower policy says.

“The person who reported the serious misconduct must treat all aspects of the report and the incident generally as strictly confidential and must not discuss it with anyone except the person to whom the report has been made, legal advisors, or investigators.”

It does not say whether the board chair should bring the complaint forward to the rest of the board, though a separate TNRD Board Correspondence policy says the recipient can determine whether or not that letter should be shared with others.

“If the Chair or a Board member individually receive correspondence relevant to a matter under consideration by the Board or a committee, the recipient will forward that Correspondence to the Corporate Officer for distribution to the Chair and Board or the appropriate committee,” the correspondence policy says.

“The recipient does not need to forward correspondence if they deem it more appropriate to share all relevant information with the Board or the committee during the meeting where the matter is being considered.

“Any other Correspondence addressed individually to the Chair, a Board member, or group of Board members may be dealt with at the discretion of the recipient(s), which may include personal response, directing the Correspondence to staff for response, or circulation to the Chair and Board,” the policy also says.

Gillis ‘fully intends’ to complete term as TNRD Board Chair

Over the past couple of weeks, four TNRD directors – Bonaparte Plateau’s Sally Watson, Blue Sky Country director Steven Rice, Kamloops Councillor Dale Bass, and Cache Creek Mayor Santo Talarico – have publicly called on Gillis to step down as chair in light of this letter.

“If the board had known about this letter before the payout was decided, it is very, very likely that it would not have been a payout [to Sukh Gill],” Sally Watson told KTW. “It would have been a justifiable dismissal.”

But Gillis, who has been Chair of the TNRD since 2018, says he “fully intends” to complete his term at the helm of the TNRD board.

“We do have a board of 26 directors. If there are two or three who think that my chairmanship has been lacking in some way, that is certainly disappointing but it is hardly a palace revolt,” he told NL News last week.

“I sought the chair for the final term of this election term because I felt that I was best positioned having been involved in the matters that led up to the BDO report and having been involved in the matters that led up to the retirement of Mr. Gill. I felt that I was best positioned to see it through to a final conclusion and I haven’t changed my mind about that.”

Asked by NL News if he feels like he’s being made a scapegoat, Gillis said he did, to some extent.

“I stood up and said I want this position and its just like the mayor of any city council, if you are the head guy, you’re the guy whose head its all going to come down on,” he said.

“I guess I would have to say in that sense, and believe me, I think only in that sense, I invited it. I’ll answer your question ‘yes, to some extent’ but I’m certainly not sitting around licking my wounds.”

NL News has reached out to Ken Gillis for comment and will update this story if more information is made available.