National Post (National Edition)
Rideau Hall report details `reign of terror'
`Allegations of yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct ... and public humiliation'
OTTAWA • People who worked at the Governor General's residence 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 of Rideau Hall was ordered by the Privy Council Office after media reports alleged that Gov. Gen. Julie Payette — who resigned on Thursday — had created an atmosphere of verbal abuse and bullying.
“As summarized in the Report, 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. Therefore, by any objective standard, including that set by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the reported conduct summarized in the Report, if it occurred as alleged, would lead to a toxic workplace.”
The report says it conducted 92 interviews with participants between Oct. 19 and Nov. 23, 2020. The participants included current employees, former employees and “knowledgeable individuals.”
“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 that 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.”
After an extended redacted section, the report concludes there is “a serious problem” that requires the Privy Council Office's “immediate attention.”
“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 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.
The report also 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 the secretary to the governor general, Assunta di Lorenzo, a former Montreal corporate lawyer and a longtime friend of Payette's. Di Lorenzo resigned the same say as Payette.
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 sessions 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 toward Rideau Hall staff, belittling them and sometimes leaving them in tears.
The report was submitted to the government on Jan. 4. According to a source, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Payette two days later and requested her resignation as governor general. Both Payette and Di Lorenzo resigned on Jan. 7.
DID NOT INVESTIGATE THE VERACITY
OF THE CONCERNS.