External investigations

Various Canadian entities may conduct independent investigations into a department or its employees as part of their responsibilities. This section outlines the types of investigations these entities conduct and provides a summary of any completed investigations related to alleged misconduct or wrongdoing at the Department of Justice.

Interactions with police services

Justice’s Corporate Security Unit acts as the liaison between the Department and Canadian law enforcement agencies. The Corporate Security Unit may refer cases to law enforcement agencies if information uncovered provides reasonable grounds to suspect that a person may pose a serious threat to others or may be involved in fraud or other criminal conduct. No referrals were made in 2024-2025.

Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner

The Office of the PSIC is an independent federal organization established to enforce the PSDPA. The Office investigates wrongdoing within the federal public sector and helps protect whistleblowers and those who participate in investigations from reprisal.

The Office enhances accountability and oversight of government operations by:

Over the past year, no founded cases of wrongdoing related to the Department of Justice have been publicly disclosed.

For more information about the PSIC, please visit the PSIC website.

Canadian Human Rights Commission

Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, individuals or groups can file a human rights complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) if they have reasonable grounds to believe that an action or decision resulted in unfair or negative treatment based on prohibited grounds of discrimination, such as:

The CHRC first examines discrimination complaints to determine if it meets all the necessary criteria of a human rights complaint. If a complaint does not meet the necessary criteria, the CHRC can decline to review. If it does meet, the CHRC can refer the complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) for adjudication.

In the fiscal year 2024-2025, the Department of Justice was not advised of any complaints filed under any of the above grounds. As the complaint process is confidential, the Department is not informed as to how many complaints were declined by the CHRC.

For more details on the CHRC review process, please visit the CHRC website.

Employment and Social Development Canada

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) investigations relate to the Department’s occupational health and safety program and the workplace. Investigations can be initiated under three circumstances:

In these circumstances, ESDC can:

The Department had no infractions under Part II of the CLC in 2024–2025 and no resulting investigations.

For more information on the ESDC investigation process, please visit the Occupational health and safety in federally regulated workplaces site.

Public Service Commission

As part of its mandate to oversee the integrity of the staffing system and the political impartiality of the federal public service, the Public Service Commission (PSC) investigates concerns relating to specific appointment processes and allegations of improper political activities for organizations that are subject to the Public Service Employment Act.

There were two requests for investigations filed before the PSC during 2024-2025. However, in both cases, the PSC decided not to proceed with an investigation and the files were closed. The PSC’s decision not to pursue the two cases further was based on the limited possibility of implementing corrective actions since the individuals involved in these matters were either no longer considered in the appointment process or employed by the Department.