Can I report my public service colleague for posting hateful content online?

I’ve been in the federal public service for over 20 years and I’ve never really had an issue with a team member before. I recently connected on social media with a relatively new colleague and now see a constant stream of questionable posts from them online. 

Some of their views target a group I identify with and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Can I report them? Should I report them?

Or are they free to say whatever hurtful things they want to online as their right as a private citizen?

Sincerely,

— an offended public servant

Anyone who is part of a group that is regularly targeted by these types of messages is likely to understand your question very differently than someone who has never experienced that.

If you come across those types of comments and then discover that it’s a colleague, a superior or one of your staff who is publishing their belief that they don’t accept that you (or anyone like you) is human, that you should have the same rights as others, that you should be safe or, maybe, that you even have the right to exist, it is very disturbing.

These are not theoretical examples, they can be found in comments posted online on a regular basis and they regularly target a relatively predictable set of groups. Some public servants have been found to have posted such things, sometimes about their colleagues and the people that they serve.

It can leave you asking when, where and how those individuals might put those beliefs into action, and whether those views shaped how they interacted with you.

Depending on what they said online and how detailed their comments may have been, you may well find yourself asking just how far they might be prepared to go. As journalist Lisa Laflamme said at the Governor General’s 2024 Building a Safe and Respectful Digital World symposium, “When you see a detailed, graphic plan for your death, it really frightens the hell out of you.” Laflamme is not a public servant, but her experience is far too common for many public servants.

Public servants in the realm of food inspection, public safety, science, various areas of law enforcement and others sometimes must endure both public and private messages depicting violence and hatred toward them just for doing their jobs. Other public servants sometimes face the same things simply because of who they are or what religion they practice.

You ask if you can or should report the comments and the individual in question, or if they are free to say whatever hurtful things that they want to in their capacity as a private citizen. The answers may be more straightforward than you think.

One place to start is the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector. The code is a condition of employment, meaning that a failure to abide by it can lead to discipline or termination. It requires that all public servants: treat “every person with respect and fairness,” value “diversity and the benefit of combining the unique qualities and strengths inherent in a diverse workforce,” and help “to create and maintain safe and healthy workplaces that are free from harassment and discrimination.”

While public servants have the right to their personal views and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to them on the issue of freedom of expression, any public servant who acts in a way that calls into question their ability or willingness to adhere to laws or lawful instructions that apply to them risks discipline or even termination of employment.

If the comments you have seen go beyond a difference of views and into territory that runs counter to the Canadian Human Rights Act, you may wish to speak to your ombuds or the office responsible for values and ethics in your department.

You can also raise the issue with your boss. They are all responsible for aspects of enforcing the code.

If there is an employee group for those being targeted by the comments within your department, you may wish to find others who share the same concern and work with them.

You can also raise the matter with your human resources group if you don’t feel comfortable going directly to your boss. You might also want to consider taking Canada School of Public Service’s course “Navigating Social Media as a Public Servant” which will assist in understanding both the rules that apply and the resources available to you (disclosure: I am a distinguished fellow at the CSPS, although I do not teach that course).

There are multiple avenues available to you and I wish you the best in resolving this matter.

I offer you my best wishes in dealing with this situation.

— Daniel Quan-Watson, Public Service Confidential