Execs mismanaged complaints

OTTAWA — Canada’s federal public sector watchdog said two senior executives at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency committed “gross mismanagement” in their handling of three serious harassment complaints in 2014 and 2015.

Joe Friday, the public safety integrity commissioner, drew that conclusion in a report tabled in Parliament. He said Bruce Archibald, former president of the agency, and Gerard Etienne, then the body’s vicepresident of human resources, failed to take appropriate action to deal with complaints filed against an unidentified senior executive.

The report says the two undermined the established complaints process and decided, in less than three days, not to investigate what Friday describes as serious allegations. No details were provided.