TORONTO -- The Privy Council Office has initiated a “thorough, independent and impartial review” into harassment allegations within the office of Gov. Gen. Julie Payette.
In a report earlier this week from CBC News, anonymous employees at Rideau Hall alleged that Payette yelled at staffers to the point of making them cry and prompting them to quit.
“Harassment has no place in any professional workplace,” a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office wrote in a statement. “It is a public service priority to advance efforts to more effectively prevent and resolve issues of harassment.”
The statement adds that the Privy Council “will immediately take steps to retain the services of an independent third party to conduct the review.”
Payette said she is “deeply concerned” by the allegations levied against her office.
“I am completely committed to ensuring that every employee who works at Rideau Hall enjoys a secure and healthy work environment at all times and under all circumstances,” she said in a statement. “I take harassment and workplace issues very seriously and I am in full agreement and welcome an independent review.”
On Wednesday, both NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Liberal MP Adam Vaughan called for a review of the allegations.
