The list below includes some other available recourse mechanisms that you may wish to consider in determining how best to address the situation. Please note that the list is not exhaustive. It also includes mechanisms that have direct relevance to federal public servants for workplace matters.
To ensure that you have the most timely and complete information possible to assist you in your considerations, we would encourage you to consult these websites and to raise any questions you might have directly with the organization in question.
Situation: Complaints related to staffing involving:
- The deputy head’s decision to lay-off an employee
- The decision of a deputy head of the Public Service Commission to revoke an appointment
- Internal appointments
Possible Recourse Mechanism
- Complaint under the Public Service Employment Act before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board
Situation: Discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, sex, marital status, family status, mental or physical disability, pardoned conviction, and sexual orientation.
Possible Recourse Mechanisms
- Departmental complaint pursuant to the Policy on Harassment Prevention and Resolution
- Complaint pursuant to part XX of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety regulations
- A complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (Federally-regulated employers or service providers)
- A grievance
For advice on the best option, members are encouraged to contact the AJC directly by completing an intake form and forwarding to admin@ajc-ajj.ca.
Situation: Harassment complaint Harassment includes: “improper conduct by an individual, that is directed at and offensive to another individual in the workplace, including at any event or any location related to work, and that the individual knew or ought reasonably to have known would cause offence or harm. It comprises objectionable act(s), comment(s) or display(s) that demean, belittle, or cause personal humiliation or embarrassment, and any act of intimidation or threat. It also includes harassment within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act (i.e. based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and pardoned conviction).
Harassment is normally a series of incidents but can be one severe incident which has a lasting impact on the individual.
Source: TB policy on harassment prevention and resolution
Possible Recourse Mechanism
- Complaint pursuant to the Policy on Harassment Prevention and Resolution
(The TB Policy goes beyond the grounds prohibited under the Canadian Human Rights Act, such as harassment of a general nature, including rude, degrading or offensive remarks or e-mails, threats or intimidation.)
Situation: Complaints on violation of language rights:
- You were not able to obtain services in the official language of your choice in a federal government office that is designated bilingual
- You are a federal public service employee in a designated bilingual region and you find it difficult to work in the official language of your choice
- You believe that your opportunities for employment or advancement in the federal public service are limited because of your language of work
- You believe that decisions made by the federal government will have a negative impact on the vitality of an official language community
- You believe that the equal status of both official languages is not being respected by the federal government
- You believe that there has been an infraction of one of the other sections of the Official Languages Act
Recourse Mechanism
Situation: Appointment processes
The Public Service Commission can investigate the following:
- Any external appointment process 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
- Any internal appointment process conducted by the Public Service Commission itself where the appointment authority is not delegated to the department, on the grounds that there was an error, omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person for appointment
- Any appointment process that the Public Service Commission has reason to believe was not free of political influence
- Any appointment process that the Public Service Commission has reason to believe was tainted by fraud
Recourse Mechanism
Situation: Any alleged mishandling of your personal information – for example, if you have encountered problems in accessing personal information or if you think the federal government or a private sector organization is collecting too much of your personal information
Recourse Mechanism
Situation: Access to information complaint – if you feel that an information request was not properly handled by a federal institution (for example, processing delays, denial of information, fees required and official languages concerns)
Recourse Mechanism
Situation: Conflicts in the workplace
Possible Recourse Mechanisms include:
Informal Conflict Resolution Advisors in your organization. Please contact your department’s group responsible for informal conflict management systems or employee wellness as the case may be.
Situation: Complaints of alleged improper political activity concerning an employee or a deputy head
Recourse Mechanism
- Please contact the AJC directly by completing an intake form and sending it to admin@ajc-ajj.com
Situation: Disclosure of wrongdoing in the federal public sector
Disclosure of wrongdoing in the federal public sector
- A contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province or any regulations made under any such act
- A misuse of public funds or a public asset
- A gross mismanagement in the public sector
- 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
- A serious breach of a code of conduct established by Treasury Board or by an organization, as required by the Act
- Knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing as defined above
Recourse Mechanisms
- Immediate supervisor, Senior Officers responsible for internal disclosure in your organization (Treasury Board Secretariat list), Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
Situation: Reprisal complaints by those making disclosures of wrongdoing – any of the following measures taken at work against a public servant because he or she has made a protected disclosure or has, in good faith, cooperated in an investigation into a disclosure:
- A disciplinary measure
- The demotion of the public servant
- The termination of employment of the public servant, including, in the case of a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a discharge or dismissal
- Any measure that adversely affects the employment or working conditions of the public servant
- A threat to take any of these measures or directing a person to do so
Recourse Mechanism
*this information has been provided by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
