Border services officer knew he shouldn’t have accepted free tickets after clearing Elton John’s plane in Lethbridge, Alta.
An arbitrator has upheld a 75-hour unpaid suspension of a border services officer who accepted free tickets to an Elton John concert after clearing the singer’s plane for entry into Canada.
Charles Stewart, an officer for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) at the Port of Coutts near Lethbridge, Alta. As a border services officer, Stewart also had status as a peace officer and was subject to the agency’s code of conduct, which prohibited officers from accepting gifts other than nominal tokens in the course of work.
Stewart received satisfactory performance reviews and an exemplary service medal in 2012. He had never been suspended or disciplined for violation of the code of conduct or code of ethics, though his disciplinary record included three written warnings related to public complaints and a written reprimand for tardiness.
In April 2012, Stewart was told by his superintendent that he was assigned to clear the plane of singer John, which would be arriving at the Lethbridge airport on
April 23 for a concert. The superintendent told Stewart to be on his best behaviour and not to accept any gifts, including tickets. The CBSA was careful with its public image and didn’t want its officers to be portrayed as dishonest.
Concert tickets offered after singer’s plane cleared
After Stewart and another officer cleared John and the rest of his crew, John’s personal assistant offered them complimentary tickets to the concert. Both officers said they weren’t allowed to take them, but when the assistant insisted, Stewart wrote down the assistant’s phone number. The other officer continued to refuse.
Stewart later tried calling the assistant, but he had incorrectly recorded the number. He went to the hangar area but no one was there, so he spoke to the acting superintendent about the tickets. The acting superintendent said if he paid the face value of the tickets, it would be different, but he shouldn’t accept free tickets.
Stewart later admitted he knew he shouldn’t continue to try to get the tickets, but his wife was a fan of John and he wanted to take her. They went to the concert venue and Stewart told the box office manager about the complimentary tickets, while still wearing a CBSA cap. The events manager met him in the lobby and
Stewart explained the circumstances of earlier in the day. John’s assistant confirmed the offer and Stewart received the tickets.
Their seats were near the stage, and others he knew at the concert told him afterwards that he had appeared on the venue’s Jumbotron. He felt “some regret” about this because he knew if word got out, it could embarrass the CBSA.
The next day, CBSA’s district director was told that Stewart had cleared John’s plane and accepted complimentary tickets to the concert. A professional standards investigation was conducted, including interviews of Stewart and others.
The investigation determined Stewart had violated the code of conduct. Stewart admitted taking the tickets and apologized, but the fact he actively pursued them after being told not to and wore his CBSA cap to the venue to solicit the tickets made his misconduct more serious. The CBSA suspended Stewart for 75 hours — essentially two weeks — without pay.
Stewart and his union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), challenged the suspension, claiming it was too harsh, as Stewart apologized and acknowledged that he shouldn’t have accepted the tickets.
Stewart also argued it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that he made because his wife was a fan and PSAC argued it was a “blip on his employment record” that only warranted a three-day suspension.
Arbitrator Margaret Shannon of the Canada Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board found that there was “no question” Stewart accepted a gift that he wouldn’t have been offered if he hadn’t been assigned to clear the plane as part of his employment as a border services officer.
In addition, second-row seats were not of nominal value, regardless of whether they were complimentary.
Stewart admitted to being aware of the CBSA code of conduct prohibiting accepting such gifts in the line of work.
Though Stewart apologized for and acknowledged his actions, Shannon found he tried to minimize his misconduct by saying it was spur-of-the-moment and occurred while off-duty.
However, he actively pursued tickets by trying to call the assistant and then going to the venue later that evening.
And while he was off-duty when he obtained the tickets, Stewart was wearing part of his uniform and he explained to the box office staff that he had been promised the tickets while working at the CBSA, Shannon said.
It also didn’t necessarily matter that Stewart was off-duty when he obtained the tickets because he was offered them because of his border officer duties, creating a “clear nexus between the tickets and how he conducted his duties on that day,” said Shannon.
Shannon also noted that Stewart was a senior officer and any excitement at meeting a celebrity shouldn’t have trumped his experience and sense of duty.
“(Stewart’s) obligations under the code of conduct and the code of ethics were cast aside in favour of his greed and excitement at seeing a celebrity perform,” Shannon said.
Noting the potential of Stewart’s actions to embarrass the CBSA, the arbitrator determined the 75-hour suspension was neither unreasonable nor wrong.
The grievance was dismissed.
For more information see:
• Stewart v. Deputy Head (Canada Border Services Agency), 2016 CarswellNat 6101 (Can. Pub. Service Lab. Rel. & Emp. Bd.).
