A newly released government report has detailed hundreds of disciplinary actions taken against employees within one of Canada's largest federal departments last year.
Hundreds of Cases Involving Breaches of Trust
According to the Report on Disclosure of Wrongdoing and Misconduct published by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), 629 employees were subject to disciplinary measures during the 2024/25 fiscal year. These staff members were involved in a total of 680 separate disciplinary cases, which encompassed 916 individual breaches of conduct. This figure represents an strong>11% decrease from the 1,026 breaches recorded the previous year.
The report, prepared at the request of the Clerk of the Privy Council, aims to increase transparency and public confidence in the government's accountability systems. It states that most violations involved breaches of trust by public servants.
Unauthorized Data Access Leads in Serious Offences
The most common offence resulting in serious punishment was unauthorized or inappropriate access to information. This violation led to 47 employees receiving suspensions of more than 10 days, and three individuals being terminated during their probationary period. The report emphasized that this trend "underscores the critical importance of safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining strict access protocols."
However, the report also noted a positive trend: terminations specifically for unauthorized information access have reached a six-year low. The number of firings for this offence peaked at 18 in FY 2019/20 and has declined since, with 13 recorded in the 2023/24 fiscal year.
Range of Disciplinary Actions and Other Offences
The disciplinary outcomes varied in severity. Of the 680 cases:
- Letters of expectation or mandatory retraining were issued in 463 instances.
- Letters of reprimand or suspensions were applied in 217 cases.
- 80 employees were suspended for over 10 days.
- 14 staff members lost their jobs.
- 6 employees were terminated during their probation period.
- No disciplinary demotions were handed out.
Breach of trust was the leading cause of termination, resulting in six employees being let go. This was followed by four firings each for unauthorized information access, providing preferential treatment, and other dishonest behaviours.
The report listed other serious misconduct uncovered during the year, which included:
- Fabricating medical notes.
- Posting inappropriate material on social media.
- Applying for government benefits they were not entitled to receive.
- Falsifying productivity records.
- Inappropriate conduct in the workplace.
ESDC is the largest department within Canada's core public administration, employing over 43,000 public servants. The majority of its workforce is located outside the National Capital Region, which includes Ottawa and Gatineau. The report concludes that its findings demonstrate what happens when wrongdoing is reported and investigated within the federal public service.
