Bruce Chaulk back in as chief electoral officer — but review says further actions still possible
Chaulk was suspended in June due to allegations of gross mismanagement at Elections N.L.
Bruce Chaulk has been reinstated in his roles as Newfoundland and Labrador's chief electoral officer and commissioner of legislative standards after allegations of gross mismanagement at Elections N.L. led to his suspension in June.
In early July, the House of Assembly Management Commission asked former chief justice J. Derek Green to conduct a review of whistleblower allegations against Chaulk, contained in a report by provincial Citizens' Representative Bradley Moss.
Green's review, dated Sept. 15 but released late Friday afternoon, is highly critical of Moss's review, his methods and his conclusions.
"The citizens' representative's findings should not be used as a basis for further action against the chief electoral officer. No one should assume, even casually, that the findings are true or probably true," wrote Green.
Despite his assessment of Moss's findings as unreliable, Green said seven of the 10 allegations against Chaulk warrant further action — including three that could warrant removal. CBC has been unable to immediately reach Chaulk for comment.
Green said two allegations concerning pre-election planning and one concerning nepotism could justify removal.
In May, CBC News spoke to a witness who said two of Chaulk's sons were employed by Elections N.L. for "a few days, one or two days."
During the campaign, CBC News asked Elections N.L. if Chaulk's children were employed by the agency. Elections N.L. said in a statement they were volunteering to help process mailed-in ballots.
Green said harassment allegations should be handled through internal policies, while a health and safety allegation should be forwarded to Occupational Health and Safety. He said an allegation about providing government services in Indigenous and minority languages should be investigated as a policy issue.
Report 'rarely makes findings of fact': Green
Green said Moss interviewed at least 20 witnesses over the course of his investigation, and provided Chaulk with a 59-page document containing 39 allegations of gross mismanagement. According to Green, Moss's final report included 10 findings of gross mismanagement against Chaulk.
But Green said Moss's report does not clearly justify its conclusions.
"It rarely makes clear findings of fact. When it does, it rarely explains why one witness's story was accepted rather than another," he wrote.
Additionally, according to Green, Moss did not show that Chaulk's actions constitute gross mismanagement.
"Gross mismanagement is about individual actions that depart markedly from reasonable standards," wrote Green. "The citizens' representative should have analyzed the chief electoral officer's individual actions and considered whether they were serious enough to establish gross mismanagement."
Green said Moss did not give Chaulk a chance to challenge evidence from witnesses during the investigation. According to Green, the lack of response from Chaulk makes the findings "procedurally unfair." However, Green did concede Moss had a fine line to walk between protecting whistleblower confidentiality and fairness toward Chaulk.
"While I have given my opinion and recommendations, the House and cabinet must decide for themselves how to move forward," Green wrote.
Lane criticizes Speaker of the House
The 2021 election was the longest and costliest in Newfoundland and Labrador history. In-person voting was cancelled the night before election day in February 2021 due to a COVID-19 outbreak, following mass resignations of Elections N.L. staff.
Moss's report, which is not publicly available, followed months of investigation into whistleblower allegations against Chaulk following the 2021 election. Independent MHA Paul Lane and interim PC Leader David Brazil first alleged the report existed in May. The report had been completed in March, but its existence wasn't confirmed until June, and Premier Andrew Furey committed that month to releasing it.
The provincial government accepted a recommendation from the House of Assembly Management Commission to suspend Chaulk on June 28. The House of Assembly Management Commission, which includes members from all three parties, received the report on Sept. 15.
Lane has previously criticized House Speaker Derek Bennett for taking too long to forward the report to the House Management Commission. In an interview Friday, he reiterated that criticism — though he conceded that Bennett wasn't breaking any rules.
"The legislation is flawed, in my view. I think a reasonable person would say that once he received that report, he should have taken the time to read the report, taken a few days and then it should've gone to the Management Commission," he said.
Lane said he supported any further investigation recommended by Green. CBC News has been unable to immediately reach Bennett for comment.
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With files from Mark Quinn