"Tony Turner's fight is every public servant's fight," says PIPSC

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 17, 2015) - In a statement released today to coincide with a cross-country sing-along of the popular political folk song "Harperman," the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, which represents the federal scientist who wrote the song, Tony Turner, says "Tony's fight is every federal public servant's fight. Indeed, it is every citizen's fight."

Mr. Turner, who wrote and performed the song in a YouTube video on his own time earlier this year, is under investigation by his employer, Environment Canada, for allegedly violating the Harper government's values and ethics code. He is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and is not scheduled to perform at a sing-along to be held on Parliament Hill today.

"In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that public servants have the right to freedom of expression during election campaigns," said PIPSC's President Debi Daviau. "Since then, with few exceptions, federal public servants have been able to exercise this Charter-protected freedom and no harm has been done to the performance of their professional duties to government or to the public."

"PIPSC is committed to defending the Charter right of Tony Turner and of all of our members to express their political views outside work as fully-engaged citizens of a free and democratic country."

"This is a fight that was settled by the Supreme Court decades ago," added Daviau. "That's why, as the union representing Tony Turner, we are working so hard on his behalf and will continue to use every tool at our disposal in the future to ensure that Tony and other members continue to have the freedom to express their own views outside work. That is our right as citizens."

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada represents some 55,000 professionals across Canada's public sector.