AI-generated summary
· Application · 08/17/2026
Complainant David Nickerson challenges NSEB's authority to publicly disclose his home address, prompting Board to cite open court principle as sole legal basis
AI summary
- Complainant David Nickerson (M12972) submitted an August 15, 2026 letter (Exhibit 103253) pressing the Nova Scotia Energy Board to identify the specific legal authority — statute, regulation, or Board rule — permitting public disclosure of a complainant's civic/mailing address, and to confirm whether advance notice would be provided before any such disclosure.
- Nickerson noted that the Board's earlier Complaint Resolution Rule 12 decision had explicitly stated his mailing/civic address, NS Power account number, personal email, telephone number, and meter number would not be made public, creating an inconsistency with subsequent staff guidance that the address was part of the public record.
- The complainant cited peer tribunal policies — including the Social Security Tribunal of Canada, the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — as authority for the proposition that the open court principle does not require disclosure of personal identifiers such as home addresses, and referenced the recent Nova Scotia Power data breach as further context for heightened privacy expectations.
- In its August 17, 2026 reply (Exhibit 103254), Chief Clerk Lisa Wallace confirmed that the Board's authority rests solely on the open court principle as a fundamental element of the common law system, and that no advance notice is required before public disclosure of address information.
- Nickerson stated his position: if no specific statutory or regulatory authority for address disclosure can be identified, he will continue his complaint and simultaneously seek to prevent release of his address, and requested written confirmation that his address would not be disclosed while the matter proceeds.
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What was filed
Documents filed on this day
- 103253 Appellant Response to Board re Public Record Letter d. August 13, 2026 (redacted)
- 103254 Board Reply to Appellant re Public Record Letter d. August 13, 2026 (redacted)