The culprit behind Titanic the drug was never discovered. The case was officially closed in 1999, but now Nova Scotia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has asked Halifax Regional Police to make details of the report public.
The commissioner made this decision after reportedly receiving a complaint about a freedom of information request due to the initial report from the 1990s that redacted many of the victims’ statements. Although identifying information is supposed to be hidden to protect people’s privacy, the statements themselves have been determined to be for public consumption.
Nova Scotia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Tricia Ralph, explained the reasoning behind this change in position regarding what to disclose about the Titanic drug, stating in its report: “The names, pronouns, contact information and employment history of third-party witnesses meet the definition of “personal information.” On the other hand, some of the information retained consists of factual observations made by third-party witnesses. Once personal identifiers… are deleted, this information does not meet the definition of personal information and therefore cannot be retained.
