Ottawa, 9 December 2010—In a report tabled in the House of Commons today, the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, presented the results of her audit of allegations related to the conduct of the former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada and the performance of her mandated functions.
Christiane Ouimet was the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner during the period under audit. She retired from public service as of 18 October 2010. The audit focused on allegations of wrongdoing received under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. Under the Act, if a federal public servant or member of the public wishes to make a disclosure of wrongdoing that concerns Public Sector Integrity Canada (PSIC), the disclosure may be made to the Auditor General of Canada.
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada received three complaints against the former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner between November 2008 and July 2009. The allegations related to the former Commissioner’s conduct as deputy head, including her conduct and interactions with PSIC staff, reprisals or retaliatory actions that the former Commissioner allegedly took against former employees, performance pay decisions, and the performance of her mandated functions.
The audit found that allegations about the former Commissioner’s conduct and interactions with PSIC staff were founded, as were those of a former PSIC employee regarding retaliatory actions taken by the former Commissioner. The audit also found the allegations that the former Commissioner failed to properly perform her mandated functions were founded. In many cases, the nature of the work done or documented on file was insufficient to support PSIC’s decisions not to investigate disclosures of wrongdoing or complaints of reprisal.
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The report “The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.
