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The following is a chronology of events related to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) and its implementation by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) under the leadership of Christiane Ouimet.
Christiane Ouimet's appointment was approved on 19 June 2007. She resigned on 18 October 2011, less than halfway through her 7-year term.
For subsequent events see PSIC under Mario Dion
| — 2006 — | |
| 4 April 2006 | Throne speech commits new government to provide whistleblower protection (as promised during the election campaign) |
| 11 April 2006 | Prime Minister Harper tells Parliament that his new legislation will offer 'ironclad' protection to whistleblowers |
| 10 May 2006 | FAIR testifies to Legislative Committee CC-2, on the shortcomings of the new legislation. See FAIR's submission and a full transcript of the testimony. |
| 25 September 2006 | FAIR testifies to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the shortcomings of the new legislation. See FAIR's submission. |
| 23 October 2006 | Treasury Board President John Baird tells the Senate that the PSDPA is the "Mount Everest" of whistleblower protection |
| 21 November 2006 | Government rejects 15 Senate amendments designed to strengthen the PSDPA (based on testimony from FAIR and others) |
| 12 December 2006 | Federal Accountability Act (incorporating PSDPA) becomes law. Announcement on Prime Minster's website |
| — 2007 — | |
| 15 April 2007 | The PSDPA comes into force |
| 12 June 2007 | Ouimet’s selection is announced. (During the selection process PCO had determined that none of the applicants met the job criteria, looked for someone else, and found Ouimet) |
| 14 June 2007 | Ouimet’s appointment approved by the Government Operations committee |
| 18, 19 June 2007 | Ouimet’s appointment approved by Parliament and by the Senate |
| 6 August 2007 | Ouimet takes up appointment |
| 10 Sept 2007 | PSIC former acting Commissioner Pierre Martel leaves (5 weeks after Ouimet's arrival) |
| 18 Sept 2007 | PSIC head of investigations Normand Desjardins leaves (6 weeks after Ouimet's arrival) |
| — 2008 — | |
| 8 April 2008 | Ouimet testifies before Senate National Finance Committee |
| 17 April 2008 | Ouimet testifies before Government Operations Committee |
| 28 May 2008 | First Annual report tabled (pdf) revealing zero cases of wrongdoing found |
| 4 August 2008 | Pierre Martel challenges Ouimet's defense of her performance, showing that she used misleading comparisons with PSIO figures |
| 28 November 2008 | First complaint submitted to Auditor General (by Normand Desjardins) noting that 18 out of 22 PSIC staff have left |
| — 2009 — | |
| 27 April 2009 | Ouimet testifies before Ethics Committee |
| 28 April 2009 | Ouimet meets with Treasury Board President Vic Toews to discuss her 2nd annual report |
| 29 April 2009 | Second Annual report tabled (pdf) revealing zero cases of wrongdoing found |
| 30 April 2009 | Second complaint submitted to AG by a former employee of PSIC |
| 1 May 2009 | Ouimet writes to PCO (Kevin Lynch) asking for legal assistance |
| 11 May 2009 | AG abandons investigation under PSDPA and switches to a performance audit under the Auditor General's Act |
| 12 May 2009 | Ouimet testifies before Government Operations Committee |
| 18 May 2009 | Hill Times reports FAIR's call for replacement of Ouimet and for reform of legislation |
| 26 May 2009 | Ouimet testifies before Senate National Finance Committee |
| 18 June 2009 | PCO (Kevin Lynch) declines to provide legal assistance to Ouimet |
| 5 July 2009 | The National Post reports that FAIR and others call for replacement of Ouimet |
| 17 July 2009 | Third complaint submitted to to AG, by a former senior executive of PSIC, alleging retaliatory actions |
| 31 July 2009 | End of period covered by AG’s investigation |
| 18 September 2009 | AG requests an interview with Ouimet regarding third complaint and provides relevant documentation |
| 19 October 2009 | Ouimet’s first meeting with any Canadian whistleblower group (16 months after her appointment): lunch with David Hutton (FAIR), with Professor Ken Kernaghan present |
| 9 November 2009 | Ouimet fails to appear for scheduled interview with AG |
| 12 November 2009 | AG subpoenas Oimet to attend rescheduled interview |
| 2 December 2009 | AG team conducts first interview with Ouimet (under oath) regarding 3rd complaint (of reprisals against former employee) – 2½ months after first request for an interview |
| — 2010 — | |
| February 2010 | Ouimet writes 10-page letter to PCO contesting the AG's initial findings |
| 9 February 2010 | Ouimet writes to Treasury Board President Stockwell Day requesting a meeting to provide an overview of her 3rd annual report |
| 19 February 2010 | Ouimet writes to Clerk of PCO Wayne Wouters requesting a meeting about mitigating risks in SDAs (Small Departments and Agencies) |
| 25 February 2010 | AG writes to Clerk of PCO as Head of the Public Service with findings regarding complaint of reprisal (3rd complaint) |
| 11 June 2010 | AG writes to Ouimet requesting an interview and providing documentation related to 1st and 2nd complaints |
| 12 July 2010 | Ouimet receives letter from PCO awarding her a pay raise backdated to 1 April 2009 |
| August 2010 | Ouimet takes a month's sick leave, citing the stress of the AG's audit |
| 13,14 September 2010 | AG interviews Ouimet (under oath) regarding 1st and 2nd complaints – three months after first request for an interview |
| 16 September 2010 |
CBC Radio-Canada airs broadcast critical of Ouimet's performance – featuring Normand Desjardins, David Hutton, Christiane Ouimet. See video on Radio-Canada website (french) |
| 6 October 2010 | PSIC conducts seminar for departmental Senior Officers, with panelists David Hutton, Duff Conacher, Allan Cutler |
| 7 October 2010 | Third Annual report tabled (pdf) six months late, revealing zero cases of wrongdoing found. Ouimet was never called to Parliament to testify regarding this report. |
| Ouimet signs 'departure agreement' and sends to PCO (Wayne Wouters) | |
| Ouimet writes to Patricia Hassard at PCO, enclosing a copy of her third annual report | |
| 8 October 2010 | AG's audit work is deemed substantially complete |
| 13 October 2010 | Le Droit reports that the whistleblower system is a 'disaster' (quoting FAIR) |
| 14 October 2010 | Wayne Wouters (PCO) signs Ouimet's departure agreement |
| 20 October 2010 | CBC Radio-Canada breaks story that AG's investigation is under way |
| PSIC announces Ouimet's resignation, stating that this took place on 18th | |
| 9 December 2010 | AG releases report (pdf) on Ouimet's conduct |
| 14 December 2010 | Treasury Board President Stockwell Day announces appointment of interim Commissioner Mario Dion |
| Auditor General Sheila Fraser testifies to Public Accounts Committee. Ouimet fails to appear. Joe Friday attends as acting Commissioner | |
| — 2011 — | |
| 8 February 2011 | Ouimet again fails to appear before Public Accounts Committee |
| 10 February 2011 | Ouimet’s lawyer contacts Public Accounts Committee to negotiate regarding her appearance. Hill Times report |
| 15 February 2011 | Public Accounts Committee is briefed by Law Clerk and discusses communication received from Ouimet’s lawyer |
| 3 March 2011 | CBC Radio-Canada breaks news of Ouimet's severance package |
| 8 March 2011 | Minister Stockwell Day says that the government is exploring ways to recover the payments made to Ouimet. |
| Government Operations Committee examines appointments process and questions severance package (video, 1 hour) | |
| CBC Power and Politics reports on campaign to sanction Ouimet and rebuild PSIC (video, 7 mins) See No More Ouimets campaign | |
| 10 March 2011 |
Ouimet testifies before Public Accounts Committee (video, 2 hours) saying that the AG's report is 'wrong' Ouimet's 62-page statement to the Public Accounts Committee (pdf) |
|
Media reports - CBC The National (video, 3 mins) - CTV News (video, 3 mins) |
|
| 18 March 2011 | AG letter to Public Accounts Committee (pdf) rebutting Ouimet's criticisms of the AG's investigation and findings, with a timeline |
| 7 June 2011 | Interim integrity commissioner Mario Dion's term is extended. His six-month term was due to expire |
| 14 June 2011 | Fourth Annual report tabled (pdf) revealing zero cases of wrongdoing found |
| 7 October 2011 | The Public Accounts committee meets behind closed doors and decides not to follow-up on the Auditor General's scathing report on Christiane Ouimet. This move closes the door to any further action to determine the truth of what happened or to sanction Ouimet for misconduct. |
| 7 December 2011 | The Prime Minister announces the nomination of interim commissioner Mario Dion to become the next Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. |
For subsequent events see PSIC under Mario Dion
Notes
- All of the above information is gleaned from publicly available sources
- FAIR takes no responsibility for any errors, but will correct these immediately if notified
- We welcome additional information related to this chrononogy, whether or not it is in the public domain. Contact us