Acts of Founded Wrongdoing
A gross mismanagement in the public sector;
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)
The Global Affairs Canada Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure received a disclosure of wrongdoing under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), alleging wrongdoing under section 8 (b) a misuse of public funds or a public asset, (c) a gross mismanagement in the public sector (e) a serious breach of a Code of Conduct and (f) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing.
The investigation concluded that a senior executive in one of Canada’s missions abroad, misused public funds and directed an employee to commit a wrongdoing by asking the employee to alter an invoice, requesting that a non-admissible expense be changed to an admissible expense. The senior executive and their spouse misused public assets by asking mission employees to carry out personal tasks for them, during paid working hours. Also, the senior executive and their spouse made systematic unauthorized personal use of the mission armored vehicle and an official driver while avoiding applicable cost-recovery.
The investigation also revealed that the senior executive committed gross mismanagement when they transferred an Official Residence (OR) employee to a position outside of the OR because of a conflict with their spouse. This was an arbitrary transfer which resulted in inefficient use of official resources and the creation of undue operational costs for the mission.
The senior executive committed a serious breach of the Departmental Values and Ethics Code by exercising undue pressure on a different OR employee, causing the employee to feel compelled to accept a live-in arrangement that was detrimental and contrary to their terms and conditions of employment. Moreover, the senior executive did not take the necessary steps to ensure the employee was adequately compensated under the modified working arrangement, nor to ensure that the area assigned as the employee’s residence onsite was appropriate and continued to be for habitation throughout the live-in arrangement. Finally, the senior executive also committed a serious breach of the Departmental Values and Ethics Code by authorizing their driver to use a mission’s armoured vehicle to return to their residence after working hours and keep the vehicle overnight, contrary to applicable security protocols and unbeknownst to the mission.
The breaches to the Departmental Values and Ethics Code are considered serious given the high level of seniority and trust the senior executive occupied within the organization, and the potential impact of the breaches on the public trust.
The investigation concluded that the senior executive committed acts of wrongdoing as described under 8 (b) (c) (e) and (f) of the PSDPA, that being a misuse of public funds and public asset, a gross mismanagement in the public sector, a serious breach of a code of conduct and knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing.
The senior executive resigned before the conclusion of the investigation. The Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure recommended that the delegated manager consult the Labour Relations division about the possibility of taking disciplinary and administrative actions against the senior executive, including the review of the senior executive’s performance assessment rating in light of the findings of the investigation report and that relevant information be shared with the Personnel Security division to determine whether the senior executive’s security clearance should be reviewed.