The provincial government is keeping secret a report that examined allegations of a toxic workplace and poor management at the agency charged with keeping Ontario residents safe from fire and disaster.“The ministry is unable to release the report because it contains confidential human resources information,†said Greg Flood, a provincial government spokesperson.The agency at issue is one that has gone through a fair bit of change and turmoil in the past five years, and has also come under fire recently by Ontario’s provincial auditor. It is called the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM). The fire marshal side does “on scene†fire investigations across the province and provides training for new recruits at the Ontario Fire College. On the emergency management side, the agency responds to declared emergencies such as floods.Before 2013, these were two agencies. But that summer, the provincial government announced that it was combining them into a super agency that would better serve the public. A press release that year said 250 people would staff the new agency, which has its headquarters in the state-of-the art complex that includes the provincial coroner’s office. The merger led to fewer staff overall, particularly on the emergency management side.Soon after, staff, including seasoned investigators, started complaining. The Star does not have specific complaints but sources say they included “toxic work environment,†and poor management. The complaints are in some cases similar to issues raised in an investigation to workplace culture at the ministry of the attorney general’s civil law division, which the Star documented earlier this year. At the newly formed OFMEM, in reaction to the complaints, a workplace probe was undertaken by consultant Jim Docherty, of James Docherty and Associates. He was hired in 2015 and paid, according to government records, $53,561 that same year, though t ...
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