Commissioner Dion reports on misuse of public funds by former CEO of Blue Water Bridge Canada and tables Annual Report

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Ottawa, June 6, 2013 – The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Mario Dion, tabled a Case Report on founded wrongdoing and the Annual Report for his Office in both Houses of Parliament today. The Case Report found that Mr. Charles Chrapko, former Chief Executive Officer of Blue Water Bridge Canada (BWBC), committed wrongdoing as defined in the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.
 
“Mr. Chrapko misused public funds and seriously breached The Blue Water Bridge Authority Code of Ethics and Conduct for Members of Supervision by awarding two excessive severance payouts to two managers of BWBC totaling more than $650,000,” stated Mr. Dion in his report.
 
The excessive severance payouts were awarded in 2008 and 2011. The two managers were married at the time. Commissioner Dion found that Mr. Chrapko’s justifications for the payouts can be considered unsound and unreasonable.
 
“Because Mr. Chrapko was the organization’s chief executive, a position of trust, he should be held to a higher standard and ought to have been sensitive to the judicious use of public funds especially in light of the tight fiscal situation” stated the Commissioner.
 
Please consult the full Case Report for further details.
 
Commissioner Dion also tabled his third Annual Report today. 
 
“I am very proud of our operational achievements,” said Commissioner Dion. “We have become more effective, efficient and rigorous in the past years and will continue in this direction.”
 
The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada is better positioned now to ensure that the disclosures of wrongdoing and reprisal complaints it receives are handled in a more timely fashion than in earlier years. This includes a re-engineering of its operational processes, a thorough review of all communications between people and the Office and improving the process for making a disclosure and a reprisal complaint.
 
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For more information, contact:
Edith Lachapelle
Manager, Communications
Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
Telephone: 613-946-2138 or BB: 613-294-1678
Email: Lachapelle.Edith@psic-ispc.gc.ca