Acts of Founded Wrongdoing
(1) Contravention of an Act of Parliament or any regulation made under any such Act, misuse of public funds, gross mismanagement, and knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing.
On 13 February 2012, the DND IDO received a disclosure pertaining to alleged wrongdoings by a CF member and a DND employee. Specifically, the following allegations were made:
•Contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, or of any regulation made under any such Act – It was alleged that individuals knowingly submitted fraudulent documentation in order to circumvent Treasury Board contracting policy, departmental contracting regulations, and delegation of authority responsibilities.
•A misuse of public funds – It was alleged that an individual used public funds to purchase items to be used as retirement gifts.
•Gross mismanagement – It was alleged that individuals within the organization were aware of and condoned the falsification of documentation in order to make purchases with end-of-year funding.
•Knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing – It was alleged that an individual knowingly directed subordinates to submit fraudulent documentation in order to circumvent Treasury Board policy, departmental contracting regulations, and delegation of authority responsibilities.
The subsequent investigation conducted by the DSEI concluded the following:
•The allegation of a contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, or of any regulation made under any such act was founded.
•The allegation of a misuse of public funds or a public asset was founded; however, management had already taken immediate action to return the items when the misuse of public funds became known.
•The allegation of a gross mismanagement in the public sector was founded.
•The allegation of knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing was founded.
The investigation report contained the following recommendations:
•All personnel within the organization involved in contracting and procurement activities should receive immediate refresher training on Treasury Board contracting policy, departmental contracting regulations, and their delegation of authority responsibilities.
•Greater oversight should be placed on the organization’s procurement and contracting activities.
•Management should include a process within the current compliance program to conduct formal reviews of unit procurement activities at bases and wings across the country.
The DND Senior Officer has informed management of the findings of the investigation. Upon being advised that an investigation was initiated, delegated authority for contracting and procurement for all personnel within the organization was rescinded and remained with senior management. Following the issuance of the DSEI report, all recommendations were implemented.