Becoming a candidate in a federal election without having requested and obtained the Commission’s permission – Founded

Authority:

This investigation was conducted under section 118 of the Public Service Employment Act (the Act), S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13.

Issue:

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a public servant failed to comply with subsections 114(1), 114(2) and 114(3) of the Act by not requesting and obtaining the Commission’s permission before engaging in political activities.

Conclusion:

The investigation concluded that the public servant failed to comply with subsections 114(1) to (3) of the Act when they sought nomination and became a candidate in the 2021 federal election, without requesting and obtaining the Commission’s permission. As well, the public servant failed to request a leave of absence without pay from the Commission.

Facts:

The public servant was on a leave of absence from the federal public service before and during the 2021 federal election period. They were not exercising their federal public service duties at that time. The election occurred on September 20, 2021. The public servant was not elected.

During their leave of absence, the public servant sought nomination before the August 8, 2021 deadline to file for nomination and become a candidate in the federal election. Before the deadline, the public servant had been interviewed by a local reporter and had shared information about their platform, and the local newspaper announced that the public servant was seeking nomination. The public servant also had a website announcing the same.

At the end of August 2021, the public servant signed the Request for Permission and Leave of Absence Without Pay–Federal, Provincial and Territorial Candidacy form. Their supervisor had also signed the form and submitted it to the Commission, which deemed the file incomplete upon receipt. The form needed to be signed by the public servant’s deputy minister, which is required when employees are seeking nomination at the federal level. The deputy minister signed the form after the election had taken place and for this reason, the Commission advised the public servant’s department that it would not be issuing a permission.

The evidence demonstrated that, on the balance of probabilities, the public servant sought nomination before the nomination deadline, they were a candidate before and during the election period and were involved in related political activities during that time, without having requested and obtained permission to do so. As well, the public servant was a candidate in the federal election without having requested and obtained a leave of absence without pay. While they were on a leave of absence during the period in question, they had to request and obtain a leave of absence without pay from the Commission. Therefore, the public servant failed to comply with subsections 114(1) to (3) of the Act.

Corrective actions:

Following the conclusion of improper political activities, the Commission ordered that:

• the public servant participate in an individual awareness session on the political activities’ regime for federal public service employees
  • failure to complete the session will result in the public servant’s dismissal
• a letter be sent to the public servant to inform them that they failed to comply with subsections 114(1) to (3) of the Act and to remind them of their obligations

Investigation File No.: 22-23-02