Disgraced Former Integrity Commissioner Receiving $400,000 Severance

Christiane Ouimet abruptly resigned from her post last fall just before the auditor general released a scathing report about her commission.

The optics of this is not good. As public sector integrity commissioner Ouimet was tasked with investigating complaints from government whistleblowers, but during her three-and-a-half-year tenure her office, which has an $11-million budget, investigated only five of the 228 complaints it received. She resigned just before Auditor General Sheila Fraser released a report detailing her performance, and then went missing for months as MPs tried to get her to appear before a parliamentary committee tried. It has now been revealed that Ouimet is receiving a $400,000 severance package, based on a calculation of a year-and-a-half of her salary and benefits. She also qualifies for her pension.