OTTAWA — Christiane Fox, the deputy minister of National Defence and the federal government’s top civilian official at the department, violated the Conflict of Interest Act by using her senior position to secure preferential treatment and a management-level job for a university acquaintance with no relevant government experience, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner has ruled.
In a report released Wednesday and reported by the Ottawa Citizen, Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein found that Fox, while serving as deputy minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 2023, improperly influenced hiring officials to place Björn Charles — a former university athlete she knew from their time as student athletes at Carleton University — into a project manager role in the department’s access-to-information (ATIP) division.
Charles, who had been working as a gym manager at a GoodLife Fitness location linked to Fox and her family through basketball coaching ties, lacked government experience and the French-language skills typically required for the position. Despite warnings from officials that he was not qualified for the higher-paid PM-04 management-level post, Fox sent his résumé with expectations of a rapid meeting, repeatedly demanded updates, supplied him with an internal IRCC briefing document to prepare for interviews, and pressed for an elevated salary citing his recent parenthood.
IRCC staff felt pressured by the deputy minister’s interventions. One internal text captured the frustration: “holy geez, tell her to lay off with this guy already.” Others referred to Charles as “the DM’s friend.” The Ottawa Citizen reported that morale in the ATIP division was “greatly affected” after Charles was hired into a non-entry-level role he struggled to perform. He underperformed and his one-year term was not renewed in 2024.
The commissioner concluded that “the true intent behind her interventions was to help Mr. Charles find new employment, and this occurred under her watch through the creation of a position in her department to fit Mr. Charles’ needs.” Von Finckenstein rejected Fox’s claims that her actions were appropriate or motivated by departmental needs, including anti-racism considerations, stating he did not find those explanations credible.
The breach happened in the same year Fox participated in a deputy ministers’ task team on values and ethics across the public service. She later advanced to deputy clerk of the Privy Council — where she helped lead renewed conversations on ethics — before Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed her to the top civilian post at National Defence in a January 2026 cabinet shuffle.
The case has drawn fresh attention to long-standing Canadian frustrations with a bloated federal bureaucracy that has ballooned in size and cost while delivering poorer services. Public service employment has grown far faster than the private sector in recent years, with taxpayers funding layers of well-paid positions amid complaints of inefficiency, favouritism and unaccountability at senior levels. Many Canadians have voiced irritation over a system perceived to protect insiders while ordinary workers face higher taxes and declining service quality.
IRCC and National Defence referred questions to the Privy Council Office. Spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold said the government respects the ethics commissioner’s work and is reviewing the report, but offered no comment on whether Fox would face any consequences or remain in her current role. No sanctions for the violation are detailed in the commissioner’s findings.
The investigation was referred to the ethics commissioner by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner in May 2025. The full report is available on the commissioner’s website.
