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... Ottawa, Ontario ... March 20, 2009 The Honourable Lawrence Cannon Minister of Foreign Affairs 125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, K1A 0G2 Dear Mr. Cannon, It is with great pleasure and an equal measure of hope that I present you with a copy of Shooting the Messenger a book about my experiences at Foreign Affairs and the consequences for me of discovering and reporting on two extraordinary breaches of the public trust. I was a federal public servant for more than twelve years, the last five with your Department. In 1984 (yes, it’s been that long, but for me it’s like it happened yesterday), I was warned that if I contacted the Commissioner of Official Languages about an egregious breach of the Official Languages Act, I would face disciplinary action. I would not be intimidated when faced with such an arrogant flaunting of the Law. I telephoned Max Yalden, the then Commissioner of Officials Languages. He ordered an investigation. Reprisals began immediately (pp. 65, 66). During the course of his investigation, Mr. Yalden was appointed Ambassador to Brussels and replaced as Commissioner by the departing ambassador, D’Iberville Fortier. The investigation dragged on. I called the Commissioner’s office and talked with a Ms. Mary Lee Bragg. Ms. Bragg, in a letter, explained that my complaint was just a symptom of a much greater problem, the reason for the lengthy investigation (p.90). I was worried, the on-going harassment was about to take on a new ominous form (pp. 76, 77). I decided to write to the Director General of the Management Review and (Internal) Audit Bureau. I met with Ambassador Chrétien, then head of the Bureau, to discuss, among other things, the lack of respect for French language rights and the theft of millions of dollars. In 1983, as part of the team overhauling the Department’s financial reporting system, I discovered that personnel stationed abroad were helping themselves to millions of dollars to which they were not entitled. In1983 alone, more than seven million went missing (p 56). I presented proof of the theft to the so-called Area Comptrollers, experienced foreign service officers responsible for ensuring that expenditures made by the Foreign Service were legitimate and properly accounted for. Prior to meeting with them I had Tokyo, which had a reputation for impeccable bookkeeping confirm my findings (pp. 57, 58). The comptrollers freely admitted that this pilfering of public funds had been going on for some time. They said that foreign service officers were seriously underpaid for the work they did and therefore justified in helping themselves to funds to which they were not “officially” entitled and to leave it alone (p.60). After our meeting, Chrétien prepared a report for the Deputy Minister, Marcel Massé in which he recommended that I be given a transfer. He also made the following observation for which I will always be grateful even if it did not forestall what happened next. “During the interview, Mr. Payeur came across as an intelligent, self-possessed and articulate young man. He gave a clear, objective and cogent presentation of his views on the issues without in any way personalizing them or criticizing his superiors.” At about this time, I was visited by one of the two investigators from the Commissioner’s office. Holding back tears, she said how sorry she was. Her new boss was about to issue what she described as a “bullshit” (my understanding of “de la merde”) report and there was nothing she could do about it. She said she was resigning in protest (p. 87). In March 1985, the Commissioner presented his annual report to Parliament. In it, a wide ranging breach of the Official Languages Act at Foreign Affairs becomes a simple “lack of sensitivity towards the right of [Francophones] to receive central services in their language” (Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report 1984, p. 114). The Department now made good on its threat, and I was summarily dismissed on bogus insubordination changes. There is no way to undo the harm that was done to me for alerting my superiors to serious breaches of the public trust, but there has to be a way of making amends, beginning with an apology and the re-instatement of my pension. This is why I am again appealing to you, Mr. Cannon, in the perhaps forlorn hope that you will persuade your officials, even after all these years, to do the right thing. Sincerely
_____________________ Bernard Payeur
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