The head of information technology for Elections B.C. is no longer employed there after he was found to have disseminated unauthorized copies of records from the District of Saanich, where he previously worked, to help his son in a neighbourhood dispute.
In a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in June, Guy Gondor was found responsible for handing over restricted material to his son, Darian Gondor, who has had a series of disputes with neighbours.
Darian Gondor sent an email to Saanich’s manager of environmental services complaining about activities on his immediate neighbour’s property in March 2022 that included two documents he could not lawfully access. Those documents were part of engineering records Guy Gondor was accused of copying.
Saanich hired KPMG in March 2022 to investigate and the consulting firm concluded Guy Gondor had copied the files. Guy Gondor has denied he copied district records without authority or that he is in possession of records containing personal information.
Guy Gondor was hired in April 2023 as executive director of information technology at Elections B.C., which was not aware of the allegations against him, said Andrew Watson, spokesperson for Elections B.C.
Watson could not say when Gondor’s employment ended and whether Gondor was fired or resigned, because it is a personnel matter, he said.
Jason Woywada, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, said the non-profit received questions from the public about Guy Gondor’s new role after the ruling was released on June 21, 2024.
The association contacted Elections B.C. to ask how it was responding to the ruling, and was told Guy Gondor had been put on leave while they conducted a review, he said.
“There’s definitely concerns whenever an IT professional is documented to have used personal information at their disposal,” Woywada said.
Elections B.C. has one of the most comprehensive lists of British Columbians in existence, as well as information on people who have elected not to be on the voter list, he said.
While he doesn’t know the conditions of Guy Gondor’s departure, it “helps us have greater faith and trust in Elections B.C.’s protection of personal information under their control,” Woywada said.
