neutron*star
09-13-2004, 04:26 PM
I am a Canadian resident. I originally asked this question in
can.legal, but received no answer (the ng seems to be hit and miss
lately). I'm hoping someone familiar with Canadian law will read this,
or perhaps someone can offer an educated guess based on their own
country's legislation.
I've been working as a freelancer for three years for a government
agency that finances Canadian movie productions. I read screenplays that
are submitted for financing and write an extensive report on them,
recommending for or against investing in the project. One of the
conditions I agree to abide by is not divulging any information about
said projects.
Last year, one such project, which I very strongly advised should
NOT be financed due to severe shortcomings, went ahead into production.
I thought this was a grievous error in judgement, especially given the
huge amount of taxpayers' money that is going into the project, but
refrained from commenting on it. Then, a few months ago, the project
made the headlines in a Canadian newspaper, and the article was posted
in whole on a usenet forum. I replied by commenting strongly on the
quality of the screenplay, essentially repeating what I said in my
written report of last year, albeit in stronger terms.
A few weeks ago, my post came back to haunt me as someone involved
with the project came across my post in a Google search and reported to
the administration of the financing agency, and as a result my services
as freelancer were immediately terminated under pretense that I had
violated the confidentiality agreement.
What I'd like to know is whether any confidentiality can be
expected, considering that I was responding to a newspaper article about
the project, which article was widely circulated (the article divulged
the name of the author, the title of the screenplay and the nature of
the investments, while I merely gave my opinion on the quality of the
writing). Not only that, but my report on the project could be read by
most anyone who requested it under access to information legislation
(although I'd have to check exactly as to who has access, and when).
What really bothered me was the reaction of the person
who essentially fired me, who was instrumental in authorizing financing
for the project. That person's comments during our short telephone
conversation leads me to believe that it was the harsh nature of my
comments - not their divulgation - that sealed my fate, as though I were
publically questioning that person's judgement in a mult-million dollar
financing deal. That person's choice of words was particularly spiteful,
and I wonder whether I might not have been given a mere rap on the
fingers had my comments been praiseful.
A lawyer friend suggested that contesting their decision might not
be worth it, but this contract comprised a good part of my annual
revenue, and up until this incident my contribution was highly regarded
(this was clearly stated during the phone conversation by a third person
sitting in who distributes the work to freelancers).
So, given that I discussed this project AFTER it was published in
a newspaper article; given that it was the newspaper article that
divulged the name of the author and the title of the screenplay, as well
as the identity of the investors; given that I only discussed the
quality of the writing; can there be such a thing as violation of
confidentiality?
jaybee
can.legal, but received no answer (the ng seems to be hit and miss
lately). I'm hoping someone familiar with Canadian law will read this,
or perhaps someone can offer an educated guess based on their own
country's legislation.
I've been working as a freelancer for three years for a government
agency that finances Canadian movie productions. I read screenplays that
are submitted for financing and write an extensive report on them,
recommending for or against investing in the project. One of the
conditions I agree to abide by is not divulging any information about
said projects.
Last year, one such project, which I very strongly advised should
NOT be financed due to severe shortcomings, went ahead into production.
I thought this was a grievous error in judgement, especially given the
huge amount of taxpayers' money that is going into the project, but
refrained from commenting on it. Then, a few months ago, the project
made the headlines in a Canadian newspaper, and the article was posted
in whole on a usenet forum. I replied by commenting strongly on the
quality of the screenplay, essentially repeating what I said in my
written report of last year, albeit in stronger terms.
A few weeks ago, my post came back to haunt me as someone involved
with the project came across my post in a Google search and reported to
the administration of the financing agency, and as a result my services
as freelancer were immediately terminated under pretense that I had
violated the confidentiality agreement.
What I'd like to know is whether any confidentiality can be
expected, considering that I was responding to a newspaper article about
the project, which article was widely circulated (the article divulged
the name of the author, the title of the screenplay and the nature of
the investments, while I merely gave my opinion on the quality of the
writing). Not only that, but my report on the project could be read by
most anyone who requested it under access to information legislation
(although I'd have to check exactly as to who has access, and when).
What really bothered me was the reaction of the person
who essentially fired me, who was instrumental in authorizing financing
for the project. That person's comments during our short telephone
conversation leads me to believe that it was the harsh nature of my
comments - not their divulgation - that sealed my fate, as though I were
publically questioning that person's judgement in a mult-million dollar
financing deal. That person's choice of words was particularly spiteful,
and I wonder whether I might not have been given a mere rap on the
fingers had my comments been praiseful.
A lawyer friend suggested that contesting their decision might not
be worth it, but this contract comprised a good part of my annual
revenue, and up until this incident my contribution was highly regarded
(this was clearly stated during the phone conversation by a third person
sitting in who distributes the work to freelancers).
So, given that I discussed this project AFTER it was published in
a newspaper article; given that it was the newspaper article that
divulged the name of the author and the title of the screenplay, as well
as the identity of the investors; given that I only discussed the
quality of the writing; can there be such a thing as violation of
confidentiality?
jaybee
