Employee misconduct, wrongdoing at immigration department includes fraud and violence

The Canadian flag flies near the Peace tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 17, 2020.

From sexual harassment to violence, racism and fraud, Canada’s immigration department recorded 105 cases of employee misconduct and wrongdoing last year.

According to a report published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the employee misconduct and wrongdoing cases resulted in at least three terminations and 47 suspensions without pay.

Forty-seven cases dealt with time theft, tardiness, absenteeism or unauthorized leave. One of the most serious involved an IRCC employee accused of simultaneously holding two full-time federal government jobs over a period of three-and-a-half years, during which they even made fake overtime claims.

“In addition, the investigation revealed that the employee misrepresented his productivity by falsifying his activity reports, and by sending emails at certain times, which misled his supervisors into thinking that he was actively working,” an supplementary report on the case revealed. The employee resigned during the investigation.

In a case of “gross mismanagement,” an IRCC executive in Ottawa was accused of securing a promotion for a subordinate they were romantically involved with while also “routinely using highly disrespectful language toward staff and colleagues.”

Another IRCC staffer posted outside Canada maintained a public blog “where they discussed aspects of their work at the embassy, including private conversations with embassy staff and views on the country’s people and government,” as well as “political opinions that could potentially damage IRCC’s reputation.”

Violations of electronic device and network rules included employees accused of “downloading an unauthorized software on their computer that would prevent it from entering in sleep mode, viewing explicit content on their work computer, and connecting a hacking device to a work computer or network.”

An IRCC employee was even accused of using the department’s case management system to gather information on a person they pursued legal action against.

Other misconduct and wrongdoing cases mentioned in the report pertain to racist comments, inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, violent behaviour, unauthorized credit card purchases and employees who improperly accessed immigration case files for themselves, family members and friends.

‘Some level of wrongdoing will occur’

In the IRCC’s misconduct and wrongdoing report, deputy immigration minister Ted Gallivan acknowledged their department makes “decisions that have a significant impact on people’s lives.”

“In an organization of more than 10,000 employees, some level of wrongdoing will occur,” Gallivan wrote. “Reporting such matters is essential, as we are committed to reviewing all allegations of perceived misconduct or wrongdoing through thorough review and investigation, and to taking administrative action when warranted.”

Published last month, the IRCC report covers employee misconduct and wrongdoing cases that were determined to be founded in the 2024-25 fiscal year, including cases that may have been initiated in previous years.

In 2024, Ottawa directed federal departments and agencies to begin creating annual reports on employee misconduct and wrongdoing.

According to a recent CTVNews.ca investigation, more than 1,600 cases of federal employee misconduct and wrongdoing were recorded last year, resulting in at least 145 terminations and 783 suspensions without pay.

Those include serious allegations against members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Correctional Service of Canada and three dozen other federal departments, agencies and offices.

“Taxpayers pay the bills so taxpayers deserve this transparency to know what is going on in the bureaucracy that we’re paying for,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation Director Franco Terrazzano previously told CTVNews.ca.

“Taxpayers have every right to be extremely frustrated by the actions of some government bureaucrats.”