Acts of Founded Wrongdoing
Apparent and/or Real Conflict of Interest in Contracting Activities.
A protected disclosure was received under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, alleging wrongdoing pursuant to Subsection 8(e) of the act, in that an employee placed himself/herself in a potential, real or apparent conflict of interest due to his being involved in the process of awarding contracts on behalf of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to:
A company owned by a close relative
Another contractor hired for personal work prior to and during the contracting process to award contracts to this company on behalf of PSPC.
The departmental investigation process found that the employee did not submit a confidential report concerning his dealings with these two companies and placed himself/herself in a conflict of interest situation.
While the employee did not award the contracts, they made recommendations for the selection of contractors, communicated with contractors for bids and quotations, and certified that services had been received according to the contract, thereby authorizing payment for services rendered under section 34 of the Financial Administration Act.
Both allegations were deemed to be founded and to constitute a serious breach of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and the PSPC Code of Conduct.
Corrective actions have been taken.