Acts of Founded Wrongdoing
The Department of National Defence (DND) Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure (SOID) received a disclosure of wrongdoing alleging misconduct under paragraph 8(e) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA). The investigation concluded that the civilian employee failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest involving a marital relationship with a contractor. This resulted in an apparent conflict of interest during the period the spouse held a contract with DND. The employee’s actions disregarded Defence Administrative Orders and Directives (DAOD) 7021-1, Conflict of Interest, and the DND and Canadian Forces (CF) Code of Values and Ethics. This omission undermined transparency in the contracting process and constituted a serious breach of conduct under paragraph 8(e) of the PSDPA.
The SOID recommended that the delegated manager take appropriate administrative measures in accordance with established human resources policies and procedures. The SOID also recommended that lessons learned from the investigation be shared with relevant contracting and management teams to reinforce training and awareness of Conflict-of-Interest requirements and strengthen internal controls.