The grievor alleged that he was improperly disciplined when he was placed on involuntary leave without pay because of his political activities - the employer argued that the decision to place him on leave was made by the Public Service Commission (PSC) by virtue of its authority under section 118 of PSEA and that it did not have the authority to grant the corrective action sought - the PSC sought and was granted intervenor status - the grievor had requested permission from the PSC to seek the nomination as a political candidate in a federal electoral riding - the employer was not involved in the request or in the PSC's decision to grant the request, with conditions - the PSC advised the employer that it was initiating an investigation into allegations that the grievor had engaged in improper political activities, and the PSC issued a direction with respect to the corrective measures to be imposed, ordering that the grievor be placed on a leave of absence until he demonstrated that he conformed to the conditions set out in the original decision that granted him permission to run - the grievor was permitted to return to work after he advised the employer that he had not been successful in obtaining the nomination – although a copy of the PSC’s decision was placed on the grievor’s file by order of the PSC, the employer advised that it would not rely on the decision in any future discipline – the grievance did not fall within section 209 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) because the action complained of was neither disciplinary nor a violation of the collective agreement – to be disciplinary, the action must originate from the employer and the PSC was not the employer – Part 7 of the PSEA establishes a regime to deal with political activity by public service employees and the PSC’s powers under Part 7 cannot be delegated to deputy heads – only the PSC could grant permission to engage in political activities, only the PSC could initiate an investigation under section 118 and only the PSC could order any corrective measures that it considers appropriate – disciplinary sanctions and corrective measures are different actions – the leave of absence imposed by the PSC was a corrective measure, not a disciplinary action in accordance with section 209 of the PSLRA.

Objection upheld.