Public Service Commission of Canada
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Public Service Commission

www.psc-cfp.gc.ca

Procedures for Filing and Managing Investigations

Investigations under the Public Service Employment Act

The Affirmation of Aboriginal Affiliation Form (AAAF) must be completed and signed prior to appointment by the Aboriginal person proposed to be appointed for any process where the area of selection has been limited to Aboriginal peoples, or limited to members of employment equity groups that included Aboriginal peoples. This information is being collected to confirm the eligibility of the person proposed for appointment and for safeguarding the integrity of the appointment process.

Investigation of appointment processes is one way the Public Service Commission (PSC) carries out its oversight role. Pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act, the PSC can investigate the following in relation to the AAAF:

  • Any appointment process in which the PSC has reason to believe that false Aboriginal self-declaration and therefore fraud (section 69) has occurred.
  • External appointments on the grounds that the appointment did not respect the merit principle or there was an error, omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person for appointment (section 66).
  • Internal appointments if the appointment authority is not delegated to an organization on the grounds that there was an error, omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person for appointment (subsection 67(1)).
  • Internal appointments at the request of a deputy head on the grounds that there was an error, omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person for appointment (subsection 67(2)).

In addition, deputy heads that have a delegated authority to make appointments pursuant to an internal appointment process also have the responsibility for conducting investigations if they think that an error, an omission or improper conduct affected the selection of a person for appointment. They may also take corrective action or revoke the appointment as a result of an investigation.

Public Service Commission investigations of the Affirmation of Aboriginal Affiliation Form

Investigations into AAAF complaints will be conducted by the PSC under section 69 since falsely self-declaring as Aboriginal is considered to be fraud.

If the result of an investigation determines that no fraud was committed but was rather an omission or error, there are three possible courses of action for the PSC to take:

  • Continue the investigation pursuant to section 66 for an external appointment;
  • Recommend to the responsible deputy head that the PSC continue its investigation pursuant to 67(2) for internal appointments; or
  • Refer the matter back to the deputy head for an investigation of an internal appointment pursuant to section 15(3).

How to file a complaint

All complaints must be made in writing and sent to:

Jurisdiction and Case Management Division
Investigations Directorate
Public Service Commission
300 Laurier Avenue West
L’Esplanade Laurier, West Tower
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M7
Email: investigations-enquetes@psc-cfp.gc.ca

Who can file a complaint?

Anyone who has knowledge that a fraud may have been committed in relation to the AAAF.

Decision to investigate

In deciding whether to investigate an appointment process with respect to false declaration on the AAAF, the PSC Investigations Directorate will consider information received from a variety of sources, such as, but not limited to, audit findings, concerns raised by individuals, internal information, media reports and others. Selected summaries of investigation (both anonymous and those containing personal information) reports are posted on the PSC’s Web site regularly.

References

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Date Modified:
2009-11-17