‘Serious’ issues at embassy in Denmark
Federal probe investigated misconduct claims at mission
A federal probe into whistleblower allegations of misconduct by diplomats at Canada’s embassy in Copenhagen confirms “serious” problems at the mission, according to a senior government official.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird ordered the investigation in mid-August after a scathing written grievance about embassy operations in the Danish capital was delivered to him by a band of current and former local embassy employees.
The subsequent four-month inquiry by the department’s Office of the Inspector-General has just concluded and its detailed report is now under review by department officials.
“The report’s findings, some of which are serious and have potential professional ramifications for those named, are being taken very seriously,” the official said in an email Thursday, on condition of anonymity. “All applicable rules (will be followed) to ensure these findings are acted upon appropriately.”
About a dozen current and former locally engaged staff at the mission are believed to have signed on to the complaint under federal whistleblower legislation known as the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, which Baird ushered into law in 2007. He assured the complainants at the time the investigation would be one that “fully respects both the letter and spirit of whistleblower protection.”
A draft copy of the employees’ complaint obtained by the Citizen in August alleged a host of improprieties and raised questions about an embassy real estate deal in the fall of 2011, and unauthorized personal use of the mission’s locally engaged staff, property and alcohol.
It also raises concerns about racial harassment of some locally engaged staff, undocumented workers and one alleged incident involving prostitutes working in the embassy’s garage.
Overall, it alleged that a demoralized locally engaged staff operated under an institutionalized culture of intimidation and harassment for a number of years. It is not clear which, if any, of the group’s allegations have been verified by the internal probe.
The complaint was launched just after Canada’s then-ambassador to Denmark, Peter Lundy, vacated the post as part of a previously scheduled, routine diplomatic rotation.
Lundy is now director of the planning, advocacy and innovation division at Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Departmental policy prevents him from speaking to the press about the case and he declined to comment Thursday.
In a brief email statement Thursday, a department spokeswoman confirmed officials are reviewing the investigative findings. The department did not respond to additional questions.