Parsons and Treasury Board (Solicitor General Canada - Correctional Service)

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166-2-27007 and 27006
Parsons and Treasury Board (Solicitor General Canada - Correctional Service)

Before: P. Chodos
Appearances: C. Dann, for the Grievor; J. Climie, for the Employer
Decision rendered: June 24, 1996

Indefinite suspension - Termination (disciplinary) - Correctional officer - Inappropriate relationship with inmate - Hearsay evidence - Credibility - grievor was indefinitely suspended and ultimately discharged from employment for allegedly purchasing a truck from a dying inmate at a price that was significantly under fair market value - prior to his death, inmate, who considered grievor to be his friend, admitted to employer's investigators that he had sold his truck to the grievor in exchange for the grievor's paying $3000 to the inmate and paying off the existing financing thereon in the amount of $4,230.57 - inmate stated that he had sold the truck to the grievor through an intermediary, Mr. Brown, to avoid the prohibition against a correctional officer having business or other dealings with an inmate - inmate provided Mr. Brown with a false Bill of Sale in the amount of $16,500 - inmate died prior to the grievance adjudication hearing and grievor claimed that this evidence lacked probative value on the ground that it was hearsay - grievor and Mr. Brown stated that the purported sale of the truck to the latter had actually occurred - Mr. Brown claimed that all that inmate required was that he pay off the existing financing - evidence established that truck was worth considerably more than that - grievor and Mr. Brown testified that Mr. Brown changed his mind after purchasing the truck because his wife did not like it - it was never registered in Mr. Brown's name - Mr. Brown claimed that he sold the truck to the grievor on the same terms as Mr. Brown had bought it from the inmate - evidence established that grievor had paid the outstanding financing on the truck but that he had not paid $3000 to the inmate or his estate - Mr. Brown provided grievor with a fraudulent Bill of Sale indicating that grievor had bought the truck from him for $16,500 - Mr. Brown also prepared a false receipt some four months later although it bore the date of the alleged sale of the truck to the grievor - evidence established, that during the investigation, grievor advised warden that he had some unfavourable information about him which he would reveal if warden proceeded further - adjudicator concluded that deceased inmate's statements were admissible and of probative value, although hearsay, on the grounds of necessity and reliability - furthermore, evidence of grievor and Mr. Brown was not credible - adjudicator found that grievor had entered into a transaction with inmate to purchase his truck on very favourable terms - grievor deliberately deceived employer as to true nature of this transaction and continued this deceit throughout the investigation by producing fraudulent documents and lying to the employer about the relevant events and he continued to do so during the adjudication hearing - grievor was well aware of the prohibition against entering into such transactions with inmates.

Grievances denied.

Cases cited: R. V. Smith 1992 2 S.C.R. 915; Faryna v. Chorny 1952 2 D.L.R. 354 (B.C.C.A.).