Groups say payment worth more than $500,000 inconsistent with standard practices
A coalition of 31 groups is calling on the federal government to cancel $500,000-plus severance package handed to disgraced former integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet. Ouimet, who was responsible for protecting government whistleblowers from retribution, abruptly resigned last fall ahead of a damning report by the auditor general that found her office was acting on virtually none of the complaints it received. The Government Ethics Coalition says her severance, which includes 18 months of regular salary plus foregone benefits, is excessive for someone who voluntarily left a position she’d held since 2007.