Auditor general Karen Hogan, right, speaks with National Defence Deputy Minister Christiane Fox before appearing as witnesses at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in Ottawa, on Monday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
A senior public servant who breached conflict-of-interest rules by influencing the hiring of a man she knew from university faced questions from MPs Monday, including about using a public office holder’s role to further the interests of private individuals.
Last week, Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein found that the public servant, Christiane Fox, helped the man, who was working as a gym manager, land a project management job at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in 2023.
Ms. Fox was IRCC’s deputy minister when she intervened to help Björn Charles, an acquaintance from student sports and third or fourth cousin of her husband, get a job in her department’s Access to Information and Privacy division. She later introduced him to colleagues at the Privy Council Office, where he also landed a job.
Mr. von Finckenstein’s investigation into the IRCC hiring concluded Ms. Fox had “used her position as Deputy Minister to give Mr. Charles preferential treatment, by ensuring he met with departmental officials quickly, seeking updates about his hiring, giving him internal information and pushing for a higher job classification.”
“As the Commissioner’s Office has noted in previous examination reports, giving someone preferential treatment is, in itself, improper,” he added.
Appearing Monday before the public accounts committee, Ms. Fox was asked by opposition MPs about the watchdog’s findings. Conservative James Bezan asked whether she could assure Parliament and Canadians “that you won’t be using your office as a public office holder to further your interests of private individuals?”
She replied she would “continue to demonstrate commitment to public service,” adding that she will take her “responsibilities seriously as I always have.”
Conservative Ned Kuruc commented that she did not appear to “acknowledge any wrongdoing or errors” which he said was very concerning.
Ms. Fox told the committee that she had been trying to improve an underperforming Access to Information unit in IRCC when she referred Mr. Charles. She said she had been asked to forward résumés.
She added “the actions in this particular context I have to reflect on,” saying she was taking the matter “extremely seriously.”
The ethics watchdog’s report said the acting director-general in IRCC’s Access to Information division had told the head of human resources that, as Mr. Charles had no French proficiency or experience in government, he could only be offered an entry-level position.
IRCC staff expressed concerns about offering him a more senior role.
“Evidence showed they felt pressured to hire him at a level for which he was not qualified,” the ethics watchdog found.
Ms. Fox had told the ethics commissioner that she wanted to ensure Mr. Charles was not automatically appointed to an entry-level position, “as is the case with many racialized individuals entering the federal public service whose experience and skills are not recognized due to racism.”
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Ms. Fox on Friday issued a statement saying she was aiming to promote diversity and bring in outside perspectives when she helped Mr. Charles. She was acquainted with him from her time at Carleton University, and her husband had coached him in basketball at Carleton.
The Privy Council Office did not comment on whether Ms. Fox would face any consequences.
After her IRCC role, Ms. Fox was appointed deputy clerk of the Privy Council and associate secretary to the cabinet, one of the most senior civil service roles in Canada. She was appointed deputy minister of National Defence at the end of January.
While deputy minister at IRCC in 2023, Ms. Fox was part of a deputy ministers’ task force on the federal public service and ethics.
In a report published in January, 2024, it recommended that “deputy ministers ensure that obligations under the Values and Ethics Code, and departmental codes of conduct, are clear and are upheld with consequences for violations regardless of level or position.”
It said that there is a “perceived lack of accountability or a ‘double standard’ between senior leadership and employees when it comes to compliance and enforcement of the Code.”
Some public servants said there appear to be few, if any, consequences for senior leaders who act in contravention of values and ethics.
After she intervened, Mr. Charles was first hired for a casual position at IRCC, and then for a one-year contract. He was told in the summer of 2024 that his job at the senior level would not be renewed.
The ethics watchdog’s report said he contacted Ms. Fox, who had by then moved to become deputy clerk of the Privy Council, to inquire about job opportunities at the Privy Council Office (PCO).
Ms. Fox told Mr. Charles to send his résumé to her assistant. Ms. Fox informed the assistant deputy minister responsible for human resources at the PCO that Mr. Charles would be sharing his CV.
Ms. Fox’s assistant scheduled a meeting between Mr. Charles and the ADM at the Privy Council Office in June, 2024.
According to Ms. Fox, the ADM told her that they were always looking to hire, whether in the Access to Information division or elsewhere, and he told her to send him Mr. Charles’s résumé and that they would be happy to meet him.
Prior to his meeting with the ADM, Mr. Charles met Ms. Fox at her office. She walked him to the ADM’s office and introduced him and a senior director with the Access to Information division, who was also present.
According to Ms. Fox, the ADM informed her that their discussion with Mr. Charles had gone well.
In early September, 2024, he received a verbal offer of a job as an access to information analyst in the Privy Council Office with top-secret clearance. The report does not say whether he remains in that job.