Union defends ‘Harperman’ scientist in free speech row
The federal scientist whose impartiality is under scrutiny for writing and performing the protest song Harperman to get rid of the Conservative government has the same Charter rights to free speech as all Canadians, says the union representing him.
“The Charter rights of Canadians shouldn’t be different between the private and public sectors,” said Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service. “The right to participate in the federal election is the same and so is the right to free speech.”
The controversial video performance of Harperman, written and sung by Environment Canada scientist Tony Turner, trended on Twitter and gained thousands of plays on YouTube on Friday after revelations Turner was recently put on leave pending an ethics investigation into the making of the song. He is being investigated for breaching the conflict-of-interest provisions of the public service values and ethics code. The probe is aimed at determining whether there is a conflict between his private interests and work that could compromise his objectivity or impartiality.
Environment Canada won’t comment on the case for privacy reasons but said public servants are expected to comply with the values and ethics code, regardless of their level or job.
Turner, a well-known Ottawa folk singer-songwriter, has been a public servant for 19 years and is about 30 days away from retirement. Until he was sent home, he was assigned to co-ordinate a project to map priority areas for migratory birds.
Daviau said the legal test for conflict of interest is whether a reasonable person could possibly think the impartiality of Turner’s work tracking migratory birds could be influenced by writing a folk song.
She argued the Conservative government’s policies, spending cuts and muzzling of scientists has done more to undermine the “impartiality” of the public service than a protest song.
“This government was hellbent on making policies without evidence, and that impeded public servants’ ability to deliver on their jobs … When they are telling scientists to change their research for non-scientific reasons, that is what gets in the way of an impartial public service,” said Daviau.
Daviau said Turner sought clearance from the union before posting the controversial rendition of his song, Harperman, on YouTube in June. It’s unclear whether he sought similar advice from management or the department’s ethics officer.
She said union representatives advised him to remove all “traces of being a public servant from the public sphere.” He wasn’t identified on the video as a public servant, and his music biography and website don’t refer to his public service job.
Daviau said the video was made on his own time, used no government resources, and revealed nothing confidential about his program or department. He didn’t produce the video and had no control over the posting on YouTube.
The investigation was sparked by a complaint, but the union doesn’t know whether it came from another public servant, politician or member of the public.
The Public Service Commission (PSC), the federal watchdog to ensure neutrality in the bureaucracy, is responsible for legislation governing public servants’ political activities. It is not involved in the investigation.
David Zussman, a former PSC commissioner, said he doesn’t think the making of the song violated the law. “As long as they were not advertising that they are public servants and they did not record their song on government property, I am not sure that they have violated the law,” he said. “This is a good example of how the principle of neutrality can collide with the right to express one’s views.”
Daviau said public servants have the right to express their views, whether in song, drawings or caricature. She rejected comparisons that Turner would be dismissed in the private sector for making a video about his employer because “Harper is not his boss.”
“He works for the Government of Canada, and today it is led by the Conservative government. But his boss is not Stephen Harper and his duty of loyalty is to the Government of Canada, not to Harper,” said Daviau.
The video began when Turner won a protest songwriting contest with Harperman and performed it at Gil’s Hootenanny, an annual May Day singalong. Turner’s win snowballed into a project led by Chris White, longtime artistic director of the Ottawa Folk Festival. He decided to record the song and use it to launch a national singalong on Sept. 17 with performances on Parliament Hill and 15 other cities.
White put out a call to gather local musicians and singers. About 50 showed up, most having never heard the song, practised it a few times, and then recorded it.
The song is a litany of the Conservative record, hitting everything from the Duffy trial, the muzzling of scientists, missing aboriginal women and the oilsands with the chorus calling for Conservative leader Stephen Harper’s ouster as prime minister — “Harperman it’s time for you to go.”
Clive Doucet, a former Ottawa city councillor, was among those recruited to sing in the video.
“Last time I checked, prisoners have the right to vote, and civil servants have the right to hold political opinions …. This should never influence their advice to government or the performance of their jobs. I am sure it doesn’t with Tony.”
...his boss is not Stephen Harper and his duty of loyalty is to the Government of Canada, not to Harper. — Debi Daviau, president, Professional Institute of the Public Service