The CEO of one of Canada's national museums committed serious code of conduct violations by yelling, mistreating staff and using profanity, including publicly calling senior management “whores,” an investigation by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner has found.
In a report released Wednesday, Commissioner Harriet Solloway found that Marie Chapman, who holds the most senior position at the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21 in Halifax, engaged in a pattern of behavior that caused emotional harm to employees for a decade.
Some affected people reported plans to self-harm, the report said.
“This was not a one-time error in judgment, but a recurring problem that has persisted for over a decade,” Solloway said in a video statement.
“These types of violations pose a serious threat to confidence in the integrity of the public sector, and especially the museum.”
The Harper government appointed Chapman in 2011 as the museum's first director. She was later reappointed by the Trudeau government in 2016 and again in 2021. with a salary of up to $221,700. One of the museum's missions is to help the public understand the experiences of immigrants arriving and settling in Canada.
Chapman told the commissioner she disagreed with the findings of her report and wrote that “given the seriousness of the situation,” she should revisit the case.
After a two-year investigation that included interviews with 19 witnesses, nearly a third of the museum's staff and Chapman, the report found that some of the director's actions could be “reasonably characterized” as bullying.
Some employees told investigators they were “scared,” had panic attacks and were afraid to speak up because Chapman said everyone could be replaced.
The report also alleges that Chapman categorized women working at the museum by age, said there were “no good-looking men” at the museum, and called some employees nicknames for how they looked or acted, resulting in “offensive nicknames.”
The report said Chapman was referring to the senior management team, or SLT for short, by using the term “sluts,” including publicly and to museum employees. She told a delegation from another country: “I call them whores,” while laughing about it, the investigation found.
“Although some witnesses said Ms. Chapman was trying to be funny, the use of such language in the workplace is inappropriate and does not meet the standards expected of an individual holding a leadership position in the federal public sector,” the report states.
Chapman also said the famous athlete “looks like a man” and was too masculine to be depicted in a museum exhibit, with a look of disgust on her face, Solloway's report said.
“To suggest that a woman does not have the right appearance to be a representative of women is offensive, and even more problematic coming from a chief executive like Ms Chapman,” Solloway's report said.
Report says employees were afraid to speak out
The commissioner's office began investigating Chapman's conduct in 2023 after receiving information about several alleged incidents.
The report states that since 2012, Chapman has raised her voice in anger on more than one occasion.
In one case, an employee became so scared that he took the day off work after Chapman threw a stack of union cards at him and claimed they used museum equipment to make them, the report said.
The investigation's report concluded that Chapman was unprofessional and directly violated the values of the federal government when she used her power to “instill fear in employees” and target people.
“The situation was particularly troubling given that Ms. Chapman held the most senior position at the museum and many employees were reluctant to raise concerns for fear of negative repercussions,” the report said.
The report found that Chapman violated the federal government's code of values and ethics as well as the museum's code of conduct.
Canadians appointed by the governor to council expect people in such positions to “conduct themselves in a manner that will withstand the most intense public scrutiny,” the report says.
Her behavior “was not trivial, but a repeated demonstration of poor judgment,” investigators found.
Solloway recommended that Chapman take corrective action and commission an external expert to assess the health of employees to find appropriate support measures for them.
Chapman gave a lengthy response to the commissioner's office, denying many of the allegations, and “acknowledged” the recommendation.
“While I do not agree with the findings of the case report, I acknowledge and accept my responsibility as a museum leader,” Chapman wrote in her response.
“I welcome the opportunity to learn and improve and look forward to bringing in an outside expert to help us in this process.”
The commissioner wrote that the response was “unsatisfactory” and “unsatisfactory.”
Chapman wrote that she wants the report changed to include specific dates and numbers because it gives a “false impression of the frequency and scope of these events.”
“At no time did I threaten anyone’s employment or create an atmosphere of fear,” she wrote.
Chapman also raised questions about the impartiality, objectivity and fairness of the report. She said only one former museum board member was interviewed and a wider range of witnesses, including key board members, should have been included.
She admitted using the word “sluts” but said investigators never asked her to clarify what she said.
“I called the senior management team 'whores,' but that was not specifically directed at 'MY senior management team,' as quoted,” Chapman wrote.
“This distinction is important because I have always considered myself part of a group.”
Chapman said some people told investigators her comment was made “in solidarity and not to disrespect our team.”
She said the allegations of raising one's voice and throwing a stack of cards relate to events that occurred between 2012 and 2015 and have since been formally reviewed and disputed.
In response to claims that the famous athlete looked too masculine, Chapman said she didn't mean any harm and talked about how including more women in the “sports section of a museum's film could discourage commentary about [redacted]”
She said her comment that “there are no good-looking men” referred to a conversation at an event before her appointment as CEO.
CBC News asked Chapman for comment Wednesday evening and has not yet received a response.
The Prime Minister's Office has also yet to respond to questions about Chapman's future.
Do you have a story or news related to this story? Confidentially by email [email protected].
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to go for help:
