Investigations by the Public Service Commission

The investigations function plays an important role in the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) accountability to Parliament by helping safeguard the integrity of appointments and by overseeing the political impartiality of the federal public service.

Part 5 of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) provides the Commission with the authority to conduct investigations into appointment processes. This includes:

  • Section 66: Merit, errors, omissions or improper conduct in external appointment processes;
  • Subsections 67(1) and (2): For non-delegated appointments, or errors, omissions or improper conduct in internal appointment processes at the request of a deputy head;
  • Section 68: Suspicion of political influence in any appointment process; and
  • Section 69: Suspicion of fraud in any appointment process.

Under the PSEA, the Commission also has exclusive authority to conduct investigations into allegations that an employee has failed to comply with subsections 113(1), 114(1) to (3) or 115(1) of the PSEA, that is, they engaged in improper political activity.

Data and Resources

Field Value
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • AmeriGEO
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • CKAN
  • Canada
  • GEO
  • GEOSS
  • National
  • North America
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license_id ca-ogl-lgo
license_title ca-ogl-lgo
maintainer_email open-ouvert@tbs-sct.gc.ca
metadata_created 2025-11-25T07:45:13.901853
metadata_modified 2025-11-25T07:45:13.901857
notes The investigations function plays an important role in the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) accountability to Parliament by helping safeguard the integrity of appointments and by overseeing the political impartiality of the federal public service. Part 5 of the *Public Service Employment Act* (PSEA) provides the Commission with the authority to conduct investigations into appointment processes. This includes: - Section 66: Merit, errors, omissions or improper conduct in external appointment processes; - Subsections 67(1) and (2): For non-delegated appointments, or errors, omissions or improper conduct in internal appointment processes at the request of a deputy head; - Section 68: Suspicion of political influence in any appointment process; and - Section 69: Suspicion of fraud in any appointment process. Under the PSEA, the Commission also has exclusive authority to conduct investigations into allegations that an employee has failed to comply with subsections 113(1), 114(1) to (3) or 115(1) of the PSEA, that is, they engaged in improper political activity.
num_resources 7
num_tags 8
title Investigations by the Public Service Commission