Government worker admits to leaking info on cutting E.I. benefits

A government employee is suspended for anonymously leaking secret information to the media about cutting Employment Insurance benefits.

 

Sylvie Therrien was asked to find and collect up to CAN$485,000 worth of E.I. benefits each year by denying claims from  the unemployed. 

 

In an interview with CBC News, Therrien said that it was against her values to harass claimants just to save money for the government. 

 

Therrien was then asked by her boss if she made the leak.

 

She admitted it, and was then suspended without pay.

 

Her job in the government is currently in limbo.

 

She's expecting she will be fired, but she's hoping her union and lawyer support her in court.

 

Canada Employment and Immigration Union leader Don Rogers calls Therrien's situation "Witchhunt terminology," as it describes what is happening in the government concerning E.I. fraud. 

 

No further details were given, as Service Canada employees are bound to a declaration to not reveal any government information.

 

Flickr Photo by: Matt Chan

STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES