Investigation Report Summary – Section 69 – Founded – Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada – Fraud – Misrepresentation – Member of a Provincial Bar Association

Section 69 – Founded – Fraud – Misrepresentation – Member of a Provincial Bar Association

Authority: This investigation was conducted under section 69 of the Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13 (the “Act”).

Issue: Fraud was alleged in an external appointment process that led to the appointment of an employee of the department.

An investigation was conducted to determine whether the employee committed fraud in this appointment process by claiming to be a member of a provincial Bar association. The employee allegedly claimed to be a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, stating the following in their employment application: “2003 Completion of Bar Admission, Law Society of Upper Canada.”

Facts: At the time of submitting their application for the external appointment process to fill the position, the employee was already occupying a position in the same unit.

According to the statement of merit criteria for the appointment process, applicants had to have a degree in Law from a recognized university and be a member of a provincial Bar association.

In the employment application, the employee indicated: “Completion of Bar Admission, Law Society of Upper Canada.” The employee in charge of pre-selection interpreted this statement to mean that the candidate was a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. The candidate declared that they should have added the word “course,” since they meant to say that they had completed the Bar admission course.

In fact, only a few weeks after having submitted the employment application for the position, the employee acted as guarantor for a co-worker's passport application. The employee indicated “Manager Lawyer” as their occupation on the passport application. At that time, Passport Canada's Guarantor Policy stated that only members of certain groups were authorized to act as guarantors: police officer, lawyer, chiropractor, dentist, judge, magistrate, physician, notary, pharmacist, bank signing officer and veterinarian.

The evidence collected during the investigation is that the employee is not, and never has been, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada or of any other Canadian provincial Bar association. However, the employee voluntarily created some ambiguity by omitting the word “course” when they wanted to indicate that they had only taken the Bar admission course and not all of the formalities required to become a member of the Bar.

Conclusions: These two elements taken together, namely having indicated on the employment application that they had completed the Bar admission, and having acted as guarantor for a co-worker by indicating “Manager Lawyer” on the passport application, demonstrate that the employee intentionally wanted it to be believed that they were a lawyer in order to be considered for the position.

The Commission concluded that the employee committed fraud in the external appointment process.

The corrective measures ordered in March 2010, after a related investigation conducted pursuant to section 66 of the Act, led to the revocation of the appointment of the employee.

Corrective actions: In accordance with its authority under section 69 of the Act, the Commission ordered that:

• For a period of three years, the candidate obtain written approval from the Commission before accepting any position or employment within the federal public service;
• Should the candidate accept a term or indeterminate appointment within the federal public service without having first obtained such an approval, the appointment be revoked;
• The candidate take the course Paving the Way: Values and Ethics Foundations for Employees at the Canada School of Public Service; and
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police be provided with a copy of the Investigation Report and any other relevant information for the purpose of section 133 of the Act.

File number: 11-12-07