PUBLIC SERVICE COULD REVIEW ALLEGATIONS, DOCUMENTS SHOW

Internal government documents show that public servants could have investigated allegations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall had an employee at the Governor General’s office filed a complaint under the federal labour code. The Governor General herself is not subject to the code, but the secretariat and the employees who serve Julie Payette are fair game, as federal labour investigators outlined in a series of messages in late July. The flurry of emails on the evening of July 21 came in response to a CBC story that outlined allegations of harassment and intimidation at Rideau Hall by Payette and her top official, Assunta Di Lorenzo. The Privy Council Office launched a workplace review, but an official complaint would have triggered a review by Employment and Social Development Canada.