The executive, a director general at the Canadian International Development Agency, also had civil servants doing their personal bidding, the public integrity commissioner concluded in a report released Tuesday.
“The findings of wrongdoing contained in this report are the result of the actions of one DG who demonstrated a serious lack of judgment and disregard for government policies and rules,” Mario Dion writes in the report, tabled in Parliament.
The investigation into the unnamed senior civil servant began after a complaint was filed in 2010 that the executive was using CIDA assets to conduct private business and that members of the administrative staff were told to assist in that task.
The subsequent investigation confirmed those allegations and also found that the executive accepted private business contracts with an organization that also deals with the government.
“The DG’s actions constitute gross mismanagement in the public sector by the repetitive and persistent nature of his use of CIDA assets, time and personnel to conduct private business activities and the wilful and deliberate nature of his behaviour,” Dion writes.
The unnamed executive left the agency while the investigation was underway, the report says.
The investigation found no systematic problems at CIDA, but rather that the individual refused to comply with known policies and procedures.
The president of CIDA was concerned by the findings, Dion notes.
“The president also stressed that she takes these incidents of wrongdoing very seriously and that her organization will take every step available to ensure that no similar incidents will arise in the future.”
Financial management at the agency has come under scrutiny in the past, most notably the case of former minister Bev Oda, who billed thousands in questionable expenses to taxpayers.
She left politics last year and was replaced in the International Co-operation portfolio by Julian Fantino.
Dion’s report isn’t the first discovery of wrongdoing within the department.
On its website, CIDA notes a case in which not-for-profit organizations were wrongfully receiving payments.
The case came to light following a disclosure of wrongdoing and the incident was blamed on the failure to conduct appropriate oversight on spending.
“In response, CIDA has taken remedial measures including the reassignment of the employee to other unrelated duties and is pursuing repayment of relevant amounts from the non-for-profit organizations,” the statement said.
The statement gives no indication when the case took place, but a whistleblower group has linked it to an incident from 2007-2008.
Tuesday’s report is the third since Dion took over as commissioner in 2010.
The first revealed the case of a manager at Human Resources and Development Canada who used taxpayer funds to get massages, buy big-screen TVs and used government resources like cars for personal use.
The second found that senior officials at the Laurentian Pilotage Authority gave permits to two apprentice pilots even though they didn’t meet the required criteria.
In his report Tuesday, he put parliamentarians on notice that there’s more where that came from: his office has 40 investigations underway.
“Speaking up about matters that involve wrongdoing by upper management can often be difficult,” Dion said in a release.
“It is encouraging that public servants are trusting the system and coming forward to my office with these types of disclosures.”
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Stephanie Levitz
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