Acts of Founded Wrongdoing
A serious breach of a code of conduct established under section 5 or 6;
Knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing set out in any of paragraphs (a) to (e)
In the Fall of 2023, IRCC’s office of internal disclosures launched an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing committed by an executive at NHQ. In light of additional information uncovered in the course of the investigation, the scope of the investigation was expanded to include two additional executives at IRCC.
The investigation revealed that the first executive granted preferential treatment to a subordinate with whom the executive was romantically involved by taking steps to ensure she received a promotion, that she was granted overtime, and offering a position to one of her family members. It was also found that this executive did not adequately mitigate conflicts of interest within their team, including a reporting relationship between family members. The investigation further uncovered that the executive made requests which would have placed individuals in a position of conflict of interest, such as asking two individuals who would apply on a staffing process to work on the merit criteria for that process (which they refused to do). It was also found that the executive used extremely disrespectful language when speaking to and of subordinates, colleagues, superiors and/or clients, both in one-on-one and in group settings. The investigation found that the executive’s actions amounted to gross mismanagement and a serious breach of IRCC’s Code of Conduct.
The investigation also found that another executive asked four subordinates to work on a family member’s resume and other staffing related paperwork. The investigation showed that this executive shared resumes of various people who were connected to them, with subordinates, who felt pressured to hire some of these individuals. One of the executive’s family members was hired as a result. The investigation revealed that this executive directed subordinates to hire an individual who was referred by another executive, and pressured them to grant that individual a position at a specific level of pay. It was found that this executive’s actions amounted to gross mismanagement, a serious breach of IRCC’s Code of Conduct, and directing or counseling someone to commit wrongdoing.
Finally, the investigation found that a third executive asked subordinates to hire another executive’s niece in exchange for that individual hiring their family member. Although the exchange of hirings did not take place, it was found that this placed the executive in an apparent conflict of interest by engaging in what appeared to be a quid pro quo, which amounted to a serious breach of IRCC’s Code of Conduct.
The impact of these executives actions on employees’ trust in the integrity of hiring processes was significant, even more so considering the responsibilities and levels of the individuals in question. In light of the above, the Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure recommended:
- That a disciplinary process be conducted to address the founded wrongdoings;
- That the delegated authority consider revoking the respondents’ staffing delegation;
- That steps be taken to identify and address the situations of conflict of interest that exist within the relevant group; and,
- That the relevant information in this report be shared with the Personnel Security team so that they may assess whether its content may impact the respondents’ security clearance.
The Deputy Minister agreed with these measures, which are being implemented accordingly. However, as one of the executives left the public service shortly after the completion of the investigation, discipline may not be imposed on that individual. A disciplinary process was initiated to determine the appropriate discipline to be applied for the other two executives. In addition, measures are being taken to address the various situations of conflict of interest that exist within the team. More information on corrective measures will be added to this report once they are determined.