{"id":603008,"date":"2026-04-14T08:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/603008\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T08:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:19:14","slug":"deputy-minister-who-broke-conflict-of-interest-rules-faces-questions-from-mps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/603008\/","title":{"rendered":"Deputy minister who broke conflict-of-interest rules faces questions from MPs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Auditor general Karen Hogan, right, speaks with National Defence Deputy Minister Christiane Fox before appearing as witnesses at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in Ottawa, on Monday.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

A senior public servant who breached conflict-of-interest rules by influencing the hiring of a man she knew from university faced questions from MPs Monday, including about using a public office holder\u2019s role to further the interests of private individuals. <\/p>\n

Last week, Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein found that the public servant, Christiane Fox, helped the man, who was working as a gym manager, land a project management job at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in 2023. <\/p>\n

Ms. Fox was IRCC\u2019s deputy minister when she intervened to help Bj\u00f6rn Charles, an acquaintance from student sports and third or fourth cousin of her husband, get a job in her department\u2019s Access to Information and Privacy division. She later introduced him to colleagues at the Privy Council Office, where he also landed a job. <\/p>\n

Mr. von Finckenstein\u2019s investigation into the IRCC hiring concluded Ms. Fox had \u201cused her position as Deputy Minister to give Mr. Charles preferential treatment, by ensuring he met with departmental officials quickly, seeking updates about his hiring, giving him internal information and pushing for a higher job classification.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Commissioner\u2019s Office has noted in previous examination reports, giving someone preferential treatment is, in itself, improper,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Deputy minister Christiane Fox breached conflict of interest rules by intervening in hiring decision, says ethics watchdog<\/a><\/p>\n

Appearing Monday before the public accounts committee, Ms. Fox was asked by opposition MPs about the watchdog\u2019s findings. Conservative James Bezan asked whether she could assure Parliament and Canadians \u201cthat you won\u2019t be using your office as a public office holder to further your interests of private individuals?\u201d<\/p>\n

She replied she would \u201ccontinue to demonstrate commitment to public service,\u201d adding that she will take her \u201cresponsibilities seriously as I always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative Ned Kuruc commented that she did not appear to \u201cacknowledge any wrongdoing or errors\u201d which he said was very concerning. <\/p>\n

Ms. Fox told the committee that she had been trying to improve an underperforming Access to Information unit in IRCC when she referred Mr. Charles. She said she had been asked to forward r\u00e9sum\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

She added \u201cthe actions in this particular context I have to reflect on,\u201d saying she was taking the matter \u201cextremely seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n

The ethics watchdog\u2019s report said the acting director-general in IRCC\u2019s Access to Information division had told the head of human resources that, as Mr. Charles had no French proficiency or experience in government, he could only be offered an entry-level position.<\/p>\n

IRCC staff expressed concerns about offering him a more senior role.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence showed they felt pressured to hire him at a level for which he was not qualified,\u201d the ethics watchdog found.<\/p>\n

Ms. Fox had told the ethics commissioner that she wanted to ensure Mr. Charles was not automatically appointed to an entry-level position, \u201cas is the case with many racialized individuals entering the federal public service whose experience and skills are not recognized due to racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney\u2019s conflict of interest screen has been implemented six times, Privy Council Clerk says<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Fox on Friday issued a statement saying she was aiming to promote diversity and bring in outside perspectives when she helped Mr. Charles. She was acquainted with him from her time at Carleton University, and her husband had coached him in basketball at Carleton.<\/p>\n

The Privy Council Office did not comment on whether Ms. Fox would face any consequences.<\/p>\n

After her IRCC role, Ms. Fox was appointed deputy clerk of the Privy Council and associate secretary to the cabinet, one of the most senior civil service roles in Canada. She was appointed deputy minister of National Defence at the end of January.<\/p>\n

While deputy minister at IRCC in 2023, Ms. Fox was part of a deputy ministers\u2019 task force on the federal public service and ethics. <\/p>\n

In a report published in January, 2024, it recommended that \u201cdeputy ministers ensure that obligations under the Values and Ethics Code, and departmental codes of conduct, are clear and are upheld with consequences for violations regardless of level or position.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said that there is a \u201cperceived lack of accountability or a \u2018double standard\u2019 between senior leadership and employees when it comes to compliance and enforcement of the Code.\u201d <\/p>\n

Some public servants said there appear to be few, if any, consequences for senior leaders who act in contravention of values and ethics.<\/p>\n

After she intervened, Mr. Charles was first hired for a casual position at IRCC, and then for a one-year contract. He was told in the summer of 2024 that his job at the senior level would not be renewed. <\/p>\n

The ethics watchdog\u2019s report said he contacted Ms. Fox, who had by then moved to become deputy clerk of the Privy Council, to inquire about job opportunities at the Privy Council Office (PCO).<\/p>\n

Ms. Fox told Mr. Charles to send his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to her assistant. Ms. Fox informed the assistant deputy minister responsible for human resources at the PCO that Mr. Charles would be sharing his CV.<\/p>\n

Ms. Fox\u2019s assistant scheduled a meeting between Mr. Charles and the ADM at the Privy Council Office in June, 2024. <\/p>\n

According to Ms. Fox, the ADM told her that they were always looking to hire, whether in the Access to Information division or elsewhere, and he told her to send him Mr. Charles\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and that they would be happy to meet him.<\/p>\n

Prior to his meeting with the ADM, Mr. Charles met Ms. Fox at her office. She walked him to the ADM\u2019s office and introduced him and a senior director with the Access to Information division, who was also present. <\/p>\n

According to Ms. Fox, the ADM informed her that their discussion with Mr. Charles had gone well.<\/p>\n

In early September, 2024, he received a verbal offer of a job as an access to information analyst in the Privy Council Office with top-secret clearance. The report does not say whether he remains in that job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Auditor general Karen Hogan, right, speaks with National Defence Deputy Minister Christiane Fox…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-603008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}