Foreign Affairs workers sue department for alleged harassment
Employees say trouble began when they questioned overspending
Jim Bronskill, Ottawa Citizen: July 8, 1998
Two Foreign Affairs employees say they have been systematically harassed for trying to halt lavish abuses that cost taxpayers billions of dollars. John Guenette and Joanna Gualtieri have filed a lawsuit against the government alleging they were emotionally abused and ostracized for questioning spending on the overseas accommodations enjoyed by foreign service officers.
The statement of claim, filed recently in Ontario Court, says the “culture and environment” of Foreign Affairs does not allow them to do their jobs with integrity. “In fact, it promotes loyalty to the department over and above all else.”
Both Mr. Guenette and Ms. Gualtieri work for the department’s bureau of physical resources, which manages a $3 billion portfolio of real estate and other assets abroad. The lawsuit names eight members of Foreign Affairs, including Minister Lloyd Axworthy, as well as the federal attorney general. The department, which is defending the action, has not yet filed a statement with the court.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Dexter Bishop said it was too soon to discuss the allegations. “They’ll be addressed in our statement of defence, and in the meantime it’s very difficult for me to be able to comment on the specifics,” he said.
The employees’ claim says before July 1993, when the bureau was turned into a special agency, it was largely directed by a cadre of senior foreign service officers “with a fixation on securing for themselves, while posted abroad, grandiose and luxurious accommodations and lifestyles at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer. The abuses of governing policies were rampant.” It alleges the “careerism and opportunism” have worsened in recent years, costing taxpayers at least $2 billion during the past decade.
Mr. Guenette joined the bureau in 1982 with an extensive background in real estate. Ms. Gualtieri, a lawyer and former property developer, has worked there since 1992. The two employees claim their efforts to work “in an efficient, ethical and accountable fashion” have prompted harassment from supervisors over the past six years that has made them clinically depressed, requiring ongoing care.
Both have been on leave since late April. The statement says they were continually met with “hostility, resistance and ridicule” from department members in various capitals abroad. It adds that they took their concerns to senior department members, their union, the Public Service Commission and other parties. “All proved ineffective and/or unable to properly redress the issues and damages at hand,” the statement said.
The employees seek a minimum $36 million in damages, the bulk of which would be used to establish a non-profit advocacy organization with a mandate to represent and protect the rights of government employees. The organization’s role would include lobbying for changes to federal employment practices, particularly those relating to matters of integrity, abuse of power and harassment.
The federal government says there are already appropriate avenues for employees to raise concerns of mismanagement, as well as adequate protection for those who speak up about waste or fraud.
Copyright Ottawa Citizen 1998
