Newly-arrived Syrian refugee Anjilik Jaghlassian, centre, and her family receive winter clothes and other items at Pearson International airport, in Toronto, on Friday, Dec. 11, 2015.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The federal public-service union representing Canada's 17,000 immigration and employment workers is under trusteeship following allegations of serious financial troubles in some of its regional offices and infighting among its executive members.
In an unusual move, the Public Service Alliance of Canada says it placed the union under trusteeship earlier this year after an unprecedented number of complaints by and against members of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union's national executive, as well as audits into financial-related issues at the regional level.
PSAC made the move in February, at the same time as Canada was racing to meet a deadline to resettle Syrian refugees. Immigration workers worked long hours to help the government meet its deadline to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the month.
It also comes as PSAC, one of Canada's largest unions, is in the midst of difficult contract talks with the federal government.
PSAC said in a letter obtained by The Globe and Mail that CEIU was put into trusteeship after an audit sparked the need for a broader financial inquiry.
"The scope of the audit was expanded to include all of the regions as a result of serious financial-related issues brought to the administrator's attention in some regions. ... Audits in two regions are still under way and the others will follow," according to a March 10 letter from PSAC president Robyn Benson to local union presidents.
"It is very unusual for a component [union] to be placed into administration or trusteeship within PSAC."
CEIU is the third-largest component union of PSAC, representing public-service workers at Service Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the Immigration and Refugee Board. It is led by a national executive elected every three years.
The union's troubles surfaced last year, when complaints against the CEIU national executive started rolling in.
"By late summer 2015, the CEIU national executive was embroiled in complaints and counter complaints laid by and against each other, as well as by members. The leadership was divided and seemingly incapable of governing itself without assistance," Ms. Benson wrote.
She also cited disagreement over the relocation of vice-president Michelle Henderson, following the resignation last year of then-president Steve McCuaig.
"The number of complaints within CEIU at the national level within the last year was unprecedented within the PSAC, and showed no signs of abating," Ms. Benson wrote.
The national executive also remained "deeply divided" over Ms. Henderson's working arrangement because she was not working out of the CEIU national office on a full-time basis, "as expected by the majority of the national executive."
Ms. Benson did not indicate which two regions were under financial scrutiny, but The Globe confirmed Ontario, as well as British Columbia and Yukon – which fall under the same region – are currently under review.
"It's not really something I can talk about because it's under investigation," said Crystal Warner, deputy trustee for B.C. and Yukon.
The Globe has confirmed Ontario is also currently being audited over concerns related to accountability in the region's financial reporting, although a union source said the police have not been called in.
There were no further details on the reasons for the audits in Ontario and B.C.
Marcil Lavallée, the firm that runs PSAC's annual audits, was tasked with conducting a national administrative audit of the CEIU. The audit was expanded after financial concerns were raised to trustee Chris Aylward, who is the national executive vice-president of PSAC. Mr. Aylward said he would not comment on internal union matters.
Ms. Benson said the move to place CEIU in trusteeship is "not punitive," emphasizing that the union asked PSAC for assistance last year. CEIU is still in the hands of PSAC more than two months after going into trusteeship.
She said the deputy trustees are holding biweekly conference calls in an effort to move the union out of trusteeship, adding she hopes they do so "very, very soon."
Speaking on background, some members of the now dismantled CEIU national executive said they feel PSAC dug up the financial concerns as a reason to throw the union into trusteeship.
"We're not hunting for anything," Ms. Benson said.