Rideau Hall report details ‘reign of terror’
‘allegations of yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct ... and public humiliation’
OTTAWA • People who worked at Rideau Hall allege it was a “toxic workplace” with incidents of “yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct, demeaning comments and public humiliation,” according to a heavily redacted report released by the government Wednesday evening.
The workplace review was ordered by the Privy Council Office after media reports alleged that Gov. Gen. Julie Payette had created an atmosphere of verbal abuse and bullying.
The redacted version of the report does not disclose details on who is alleged to have committed specific acts. But it draws many larger conclusions about the overall workplace.
“… Many participants reported conduct that, if it occurred, would lead to a toxic workplace,” says the report by Quintet Consulting. “Reports included allegations of yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct demeaning comments and public humiliation.”
Since it was submitted on Jan. 4, both Payette and the Secretary to the Governor General, Assunta di Lorenzo, have resigned.
Quintet conducted 92 interviews between Oct. 19 and Nov. 23, 2020, including current employees, former employees and “knowledgeable individuals.”
Fewer than 10 participants reported only positive or neutral information about the work environment, the report says, and some of those “were not current or former employees.”
“The overwhelming majority participated confidentially to raise concerns about the work environment and/or their individual treatment,” the report says, followed by a redaction. “Forty-three participants described the general work environment as hostile or negative or used other words to that effect. Twenty-six participants used the words ‘toxic’ or ‘poisoned’ to describe the general work atmosphere at (rideau hall) during the current mandate.”
The report says eight participants used the expressions “climate/reign of fear/terror” and 12 participants said they were “walking on eggshells.”
It says 20 participants “reported having witnessed harassment in their workplace or referred to harassing behaviours in the workplace.” however, the report also says Quintet did not receive any formal complaints of harassment.
The report cautions it should not be considered an “investigation” into the alleged conduct.
“Quintet did not investigate the veracity of the concerns and allegations raised by participants,” it says. “For example, Quintet did not test the quality of the evidence gathered, or assess participants’ credibility. It follows, importantly, that the description of alleged conduct in this report does not establish that such conduct occurred.”
Even so, the report concludes there is “a serious problem” that requires the Privy Council Office’s “immediate attention.”
The government must act “quickly and decisively,” the report recommends. “Only through meaningful, timely action on the part of senior leadership of the PCO will any restoration of the work environment at (rideau hall) be possible.
“In reaching this conclusion, Quintet respects the unproven nature of the reported concerns and draws on its decades of experience in the field of conflict management and prevention.”
The report says the government provided Quintet in September with an initial list of 197 employees and their email addresses. however, by Oct. 6 the firm had received “more than 81 requests for interviews from current employees, former employees, and those presenting themselves as having relevant information.”
“This was substantially more than anticipated,” the report notes.
Staff told Quintet that “turnover is at record levels,” that “people are leaving in droves,” there were “waves of departures” and an exodus of “quite a few competent, accomplished, experienced personnel,” which undermined morale.
The report provides a series of words used by participants to describe the atmosphere within rideau hall, including “humiliation,” “disrespect,” “condescension,” “a non-inclusive workplace,” and “the definition of a poisoned work environment” where employees are “stressed out” and “worn out.”
The report also notes at least 12 pages worth of “serious” and “oft-repeated” behaviours that would lead to a toxic workplace. however, every single example was redacted.
One unredacted portion notes the examples spanned the entirety of Payette’s tenure, and described behaviours “that were in most cases repeated and persistent.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named the former astronaut as Canada’s 29th governor general in 2017 after disbanding a non-partisan, arm’s-length committee created by the previous Conservative government to recommend worthy nominees for viceregal posts.
After Payette’s resignation, Trudeau acknowledged that he might have to improve the vetting for high-level appointments.
The report includes a response from the management of the Office to the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG). It does not say who specifically the response is from, however the management was overseen by di Lorenzo, a former Montreal corporate lawyer and a longtime friend of Payette’s.
In the report, OSGG management spelled out measures adopted to “improve the health of the workplace,” such as conducting a “World Café” all-staff meeting in the fall of 2018, adopting a first-ever Workplace Well-being and harassment Prevention Action Plan and organizing training session on “respect in the Workplace” and “Working Minds.”
“OSGG management specifically spoke about the challenges associated with needing to modernize some aspects of the OSGG, including related to hr policies, technology and the system of honours,” the report says. “They reported that some OSGG staff were quite resistant to these changes that were taking place...representatives of OSGG management also stated that reports of harassment at the OSGG predated the current mandate, and they had, in recent years, taken many important steps to improve the health of the workplace.”
The review was ordered last summer after a CBC report cited a dozen confidential sources alleging Payette and di Lorenzo had created a toxic workplace and were verbally abusive towards rideau hall staff, belittling them and sometimes leaving them in tears.