Tories want probe into public workers who leaked complaints about Harper government
Tories want probe into public workers who leaked complaints about Harper government
The Conservatives are calling for an investigation into claims that Canada Revenue Agency employees teamed up with an advocacy group for a report that alleges mismanagement and political interference in tax investigations that cost billions in uncollected revenue.
Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif, the party’s national revenue critic, said the involvement of public servants in such a report during an election is “disturbing” and shouldn’t be ignored just because a new government was elected.
“I would hope that the Minister of National Revenue realizes the seriousness of this and is investigating the supposed wrongdoing, not ignoring it because the incident took place under the previous government,” said Aboultaif.
“There is a principle involved here; it is not about party politics. Canadians expect their public service to be both professional and neutral.”
The report, by Canadians for Tax Fairness, was based on 28 interviews with former and current auditors and other tax specialists. They alleged the agency is mismanaged, undermined by major budget cuts, and that it targets ordinary taxpayers over the “big-time tax cheats” hiding money offshore.
Public servants are supposed to be non-partisan and loyal to the elected government. They face even stricter limits on their behaviour during an election.
Aboultaif argued neutrality is part of the job and that public servants give up the right to criticize government policies when they join the public service.
“Public servants take an oath of office and agree to abide by a code of ethics while employed in the civil service,” he said.
Tories want probe into public workers who leaked complaints about Harper government during election