Payette case shows no boss too big to fail

OTTAWA—Julie Payette’s resignation from the governor general’s post is evidence that no one is too powerful to fail as a workplace boss, says Justin Trudeau.

In an interview on Thursday with the Star, the prime minister said that the alarms raised in the media this summer set in motion the events that led to Payette’s downfall.

“When those reports came out in the summer, I knew right away that we needed to call on an independent professional,” Trudeau said.

The reports came from the CBC, based on interviews with many whistleblowers who had worked under Payette at Rideau Hall and had harrowing stories to tell.

“I didn’t know exactly what would end up coming out of that (investigator’s) report,” he said.

“But I think it is important to demonstrate that there are no workplaces that are too important or so high pressure or no one person who is so important — in whatever position — that gets to leave people in an unsafe work environment.”

Trudeau and his government have been criticized for turning a blind eye for too long to reports of Payette’s controversial term as governor general.

The criticism also stretches to the way in which she was appointed, with apparent disregard for red flags in her background — including strife in other workplaces.

In his interview with the Star, Trudeau was reminded that even before he came to office, he described himself as a leader with zero tolerance for political offices that function on fear, bullying or harassment.

Payette’s reign at Rideau Hall, according to a report issued on Wednesday, was the definition of just such a toxic workplace. It said that Payette, along with her friend and chief staff member Assunta Di Lorenzo, presided over “hostile or negative” working conditions for dozens of past and present employees who were interviewed.

Trudeau insists this wasn’t a small matter for him.

“I think over the past five years, there are a lot of examples of where I’ve shown my perspective on either harassment or unsafe work environments,” he said.