The Conservative-appointed vice-chair of the Parole Board of Canada was told to stay home for six months after an inquiry into workplace harassment, but he still collected a salary of $166,000, CTV News has learned.
The parole board confirmed Vice-Chair Louis-Philippe McGraw is no longer working in its Moncton, N.B., office but would not say why.
Sources said it’s because outside investigators hired by the board concluded McGraw had engaged in six separate incidents of bullying and insensitive behaviour.
Another inquiry found a board member’s sexual orientation was questioned by McGraw, and that the member was told that his daughter should fear for her life after he objected to an inmate’s release.
McGraw earns $166,000 annually working for the public body that decides on conditional release and record suspension decisions, and makes clemency recommendations.
Before he was appointed to the job by the federal government, McGraw co-chaired the Conservatives’ 2006 federal election campaign in New Brunswick.
That same year, he failed to win a seat for the provincial Progressive Conservatives in the New Brunswick election.
Liberal Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday that the inquiry’s troubling findings should have led to his dismissal: “Why is he allowed to continue to park himself at home?”
New Democrat Murray Rankin also questioned the situation.
“How can a person with obvious political affiliation -- another Conservative insider -- continue to be on the payroll when he’s working at home?” he said.
The board issued a statement that said it will “take immediate steps to address (inappropriate conduct) and to put measures in place to ensure that it does not reoccur.”
Citing privacy laws, the office of Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney would not comment on McGraw’s case, but said the minister expects employees to conduct themselves with the highest levels of integrity.
