2024-2025 Annual Report on Employee Misconduct and Wrongdoing

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Misconduct and Wrongdoing
• Measures Taken in Cases of Misconduct and Wrongdoing
• Reporting Mechanism
• 2024-2025 Findings
• Conclusion
• Appendix A – Definitions
• Appendix B – Resourcesn

Introduction

The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) is a civilian police oversight, quasi-judicial administrative tribunal that operates at arm’s length from the Government of Canada. The Commission reviews and investigates complaints concerning military police conduct and investigates allegations of interference in military police investigations. It reports its findings and makes recommendations directly to the military police and national defence leadership. As a federal institution, it is part of the Defence portfolio for reporting purposes.

The MPCC is a micro-organization under the core public administration with 35 employees. Due to the small size of the MPCC, there is not an internal reporting mechanism in place. MPCC employees can anonymously report instances of misconduct and wrongdoing directly to the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner as we are exempt from having internal disclosure procedures as per the approval received from Treasury Board of Canada on May 17, 2023. MPCC employees are guided by the MPCC’s Code of Conduct for employees, the Code of Conduct for members, the Directive on Conflict of Interest and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.

Misconduct and Wrongdoing

Misconduct is a willful action or omission by an employee that contravenes an act, a regulation, a rule, the Code of Conduct, or an MPCC corporate policy instrument. Discrimination, harassment and violence in the workplace are forms of misconduct.

Wrongdoing is defined in section 8 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) (the Act) as:

• a) a contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, or of any regulations made under any such Act, other than a contravention of section 19 of the PSDPA;
• b) a misuse of public funds or a public asset;
• c) a gross mismanagement in the public sector;
• d) an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of a public servant;
• e) a serious breach of a code of conduct established under section 5 or 6; and
• f) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing set out in any of paragraphs a) to e).

The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner states that:

The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act is intended to address wrongdoing that could seriously impact the public’s confidence in the integrity of the public service. It is not intended to address matters of a personal nature, such as individual harassment complaints or individual workplace grievances. These matters should continue to be addressed through procedures available to deal with such concerns.

Measures Taken in Cases of Misconduct and Wrongdoing

The MPCC has a responsibility to take action when investigations determine that allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing are founded. These actions will depend on the severity of the offence and may include both disciplinary and/or administrative actions.

According to the Treasure Board of Canada’s Guidelines for Discipline, Disciplinary measures are corrective, rather than punitive, actions to motivate employees to accept those rules and standards of conduct that are desirable or necessary to achieve the organization's goals and objectives. These actions are generally progressive and increase in severity depending on the type of incident and if previous incidents have occurred. Managers consider all aggravating and extenuating circumstances when determining the severity of the disciplinary action. Disciplinary measures may be subject to grievance and range from verbal reprimand, written reprimand, temporary suspension without pay, financial penalty, demotion, up to termination of employment.

Administrative measures are actions taken by the MPCC to address workplace issues and ensure compliance with policies and standards. This may include placing an employee on administrative leave without pay, temporarily removing human resources and/or financial delegation, or other measures as appropriate and depending on the situation. They may also include tools given to employees to ensure the incident does not happen again. These can include providing a letter of expectations, developing an action plan for the employee to change their behaviour, providing training or coaching, or scheduling regular meetings with management.

Reporting Mechanism

The MPCC’s Senior Officer for Disclosure, the Senior General Counsel and Director General, provides key leadership in promoting ethical practices and a positive environment for disclosing wrongdoing, collaborates with the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (the Commissioner) on investigations, prevents reprisal against those involved in disclosure investigations and prepares the annual report required under the PSDPA. However, the MPCC’s Senior Officer for Disclosure is not involved in receiving or conducting investigations into disclosures.

The federal public service has a secure and confidential process for disclosing serious wrongdoing in the workplace, as well as protection from reprisal in response to a disclosure. Given the size of the MPCC, and under section 10(4) of the Act, the MPCC gave notice to the Chief Human Resources Officer of the Treasury Board Secretariat that public servants at the MPCC would be making disclosures of potential wrongdoing directly to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (the Commissioner), effective June 5, 2023. If MPCC employees believe that wrongdoing has been or is being committed, they should make a disclosure directly to the Commissioner.

The Act is the Government of Canada’s commitment to promoting ethical practices in the public service and is one of the key drivers of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector. The Act covers all employees of federal departments and agencies, most Crown corporations and the RCMP. It also covers quasi-judicial civilian oversight bodies such as the MPCC.

If MPCC employees believe that wrongdoing is being committed, they are encouraged to come forward under the PSDPA, which guarantees them protection. Additional information, guides, videos and frequently asked questions can also be found here.

2024-2025 Findings

The MPCC received nil (0) reports of misconduct or wrongdoing under the PSDPA during the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Conclusion

The 2024-2025 Report on Addressing Misconduct and Wrongdoing at the MPCC is the first edition of this annual report and marks another step in our organization's commitment to ethical conduct, accountability and transparency.

By providing practical information to MPCC employees, the report also seeks to raise awareness and empower employees to actively contribute to fostering a more respectful, healthy, and inclusive environment.

Ultimately, the report’s significance extends beyond its content; it symbolizes the MPCC’s unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct, in keeping with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service, the MPCC’s Code of Conduct for employees and the Code of Conduct for members.

Appendix A – Definitions

Administrative measure are actions taken by the MPCC to address workplace issues and ensure compliance with policies and standards. This may include placing an employee on administrative leave without pay, temporarily removing human resources and/or financial delegation, or other measures as appropriate and depending on the situation. They may also include tools given to employees to ensure the incident does not happen again. These can include providing a letter of expectations, developing an action plan for the employee to change their behaviour, providing training or coaching, or scheduling regular meetings with management.

Discrimination is any action, decision, policy or process in matters relating to employment within the MPCC that differentiates adversely in relation to, or has an adverse effect on, an employee based on a prohibited ground of discrimination, or otherwise constitutes a discriminatory practice described in sections 7 to 14.1 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Harassment and violence, as per Canada Labour Code, is any action, conduct or comment, including of a sexual nature, that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or other physical or psychological injury or illness to an employee, including any prescribed action, conduct or comment.

Misconduct is a willful action or omission by an employee that contravenes an act, a regulation, a rule, the Code, or an MPCC corporate policy instrument. Discrimination, harassment and violence in the workplace are forms of misconduct.

Disciplinary measure are corrective, rather than punitive, actions to motivate employees to accept those rules and standards of conduct that are desirable or necessary to achieve the organization's goals and objectives. These actions are generally progressive and increase in severity depending on the type of incident and if previous incidents have occurred. Managers consider all aggravating and extenuating circumstances when determining the severity of the disciplinary action. Disciplinary measures may be subject to grievance and range from verbal reprimand, written reprimand, temporary suspension without pay, financial penalty, demotion, up to termination of employment.

Wrongdoing is defined in section 8 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) (the Act) as:

• a) a contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, or of any regulations made under any such Act, other than a contravention of section 19 of the PSDPA;
• b) a misuse of public funds or a public asset;
• c) a gross mismanagement in the public sector;
• d) an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of a public servant;
• e) a serious breach of a code of conduct established under section 5 or 6; and
• f) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing set out in any of paragraphs a) to e).

Appendix B – Resources

Canada Labour Code
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/l-2/

Canadian Human Rights Act
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-6/index.html

Conflict of Interest Attestation
https://intranet.canada.ca/hr-rh/ve/vec-cve/tbssct-610-30-eng.pdf

Directive on Conflict of Interest
https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32627

Employee Assistance Program
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/occupational-health-safety/employee-assistance-services/employee-assistance-program.html

Guidelines for Discipline
https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=22370

Office of the Ombuds for informal conflict resolution services
officeofombuds-bureaudelombuds@ps-sp.gc.ca

Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
https://www.psic-ispc.gc.ca/en

Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA)
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-31.9/page-1.html

National Defence Act
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-5/

Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector
https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=25049

Values and Ethics Update: Our Journey Ahead
https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/services/values-ethics/message-clerk-hannaford-deputy-ministers-heads-separate-agencies-heads-federal-agencies-october-2024.html