The House of Assembly Management Commission has recommended the reinstatement of Bruce Chaulk as Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner for Legislative Standards.
Chaulk was suspended with pay in June pending an independent review, conducted by former Chief Justice Derek Green, on the findings of the Citizens’ Representative’s report into allegations of harassment and bullying at Elections NL.
The existence of the Citizens’ Rep’s report first came to light during Question Period in the House of Assembly in May. It was some time after that when government acknowledged the report existed, even though it had been in the possession of the Speaker for several months.
Chair of the House of Assembly Management Commission, Derek Bennett says the Management Commission has accepted the findings of Justice Green’s review “Fairness, Reliability, and Justification: Accountability Based on Public Interest Disclosures” and will be releasing it publicly.
The allegations included harassment, screaming and yelling, nepotism, and questions surrounding communications with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the personal delivery of ballots during the pandemic election, and concerns surrounding a lack of ballots in the native language of the province’s Indigenous residents.
The Citizen’s Representative dismissed the majority of the allegations, and Justice Green says there were difficulties in the Citizen Rep explaining or defending his findings because of confidentiality and whistleblower protection. Green says the difficulty in resolving questions about confidentiality and procedural fairness is a tension inherent in whistleblower regimes and continues to create problems and confusion across Canada.
The Management Commission says other matters raised in the report will be dealt with by the Management Commission as appropriate. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council has issued the Orders in Council to revoke the suspension of Chaulk immediately.
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