A witness chair sits empty after Christiane Ouimet, former Public Service Integrity Commissioner, failed to appear at Commons committee to discuss a damning Auditor-General's report on her tenure in Ottawa on Feb. 8, 2011.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Federal politicians are exploring their legal options after a formal summons failed to convince the former public-sector integrity commissioner to attend a parliamentary committee that is looking into the damning audit of the office she once led.
The chair that was supposed to have been occupied by Christiane Ouimet at the Commons Public Accounts committee was empty Tuesday, and MPs were left searching for ways to compel her to testify.
In the end, they decided to ask Rob Walsh, the law clerk of the House of Commons, to appear before them to explain the potential next steps. That delayed a motion by Liberal MP Jean-Claude D'Amours that would have reported the matter to the House of Commons and asked the House to take whatever measures it deems appropriate.
Ms. Ouimet could ultimately be found in contempt of Parliament and could, in theory, be sent to jail. But imprisonment is an option that is rarely used in these types of cases.
In the meantime, the politicians don't know if she is aware of the summons or if she is even in the country. But they are more than frustrated with her continued silence in response to their multiple attempts to bring her before them.
"Parliamentarians have the right to receive answers to their questions," Mr. D'Amours told the committee. "I think that we have run out of patience. We have to take drastic measures to get answers. Really, people are toying with us but enough is enough."
Committee chair Joe Volpe, another Liberal MP, said the clerk called Ms. Ouimet's residence in December and was told she was not home. The clerk called again later that month and left a voice message that went unanswered.
That was followed by a registered letter, which was returned by the post office without having been retrieved by Ms. Ouimet, and another voicemail from the clerk.
A bailiff was sent to the home last week to serve an official summons. He spoke to a woman who told him she was Ms. Ouimet's niece and said Ms. Ouimet was out of the country. The bailiff returned a day later to positively identify the woman who had answered the door, but no one was home. He left his business card but received no return phone call.
The bailiff then returned to Ms. Ouimet's house this week and, again, there was no response but the business card was gone.
The former commissioner has not spoken publicly since her retirement. She made no comment even after Auditor-General Sheila Fraser released a report in December that found Ms. Ouimet berated her employees, sought reprisals against those she believed to be conspiring against her and did little to help federal whistleblowers.
Ms. Ouimet, a career civil servant with 25 years in the upper ranks of the federal bureaucracy, was named the first integrity commissioner in 2007 by the Conservative government.
During her time in that office, she received 228 disclosures of wrongdoing or reprisals from public servants. Seven were investigated. Five were closed with no finding of wrongdoing, and two remained under investigation at the time of Ms. Fraser's audit.