Thank you, Chair.
Ms. George, before the end of the previous round, I had spoken to you about this letter from Mr. Lewis, dated January 5, 2004. Could you provide us with any documentation, e-mails, or anything you might have on file that would show action on this? The record up to this point shows that nothing transpired for another three months, until such time as Mr. Lewis went to Treasury Board and Minister McLellan. A couple of days afterwards, the Ottawa Police Service then began their investigation.
I'd like to move on to another part of your testimony, Ms. George, dealing with Mr. Crupi and his rampant nepotism. I asked you on February 21 whether Mr. Crupi got 18 months leave with pay. Your answer was short and succinct: “Mr. Crupi was suspended.” I asked, “With pay?” You said, “Yes.”
Now, before the committee, Mr. Zaccardelli said—and this is a quote: “I can only repeat again that the day I received the report...I appointed Barb George as the new chief human resources officer, with the instructions to remove Crupi from his position.” He then went on to say: “If that was not immediate action...”.
When Mr. Williams was questioning you just now, you referenced your knowledge of Treasury Board guidelines. The public service staff regulation act states, under point (h)(1)(e): “if the alleged misconduct so warrants, suspend the employee from duty immediately”--that's Mr. Zaccardelli underlined that he did--“and obtain approval without delay”--well, he instructed you to do that--“tell the employee that he/she is suspended from duty without pay pending an investigation of his/her alleged misconduct, and that it will be confirmed in writing.”
You quite clearly said you suspended him, and you suspended him with pay. Your guidelines say that should not have happened. Why?