Singing federal civil servant placed on leave for scathing ‘Harperman’ song

Environment Canada scientist who specializes in bird migrations has been placed on leave with pay after penning and performing protest song calling for PM to stand down

By Peter Edwards Toronto Star
An Environment Canada scientist who specializes in bird migrations has been placed on leave with pay after writing and performing a protest song calling for Stephen Harper to quit office.
Longtime federal employee Tony Turner was sent home last week after writing and performing “Harperman,” featured in a bouncy YouTube music video that accuses the Conservative leader of a litany of misdeeds and urges him to “get out of town.” Link to video
Harperman won an Ottawa-area folk song competition in the spring and was posted on YouTube in June.
The chorus of the song leaves no doubt what Turner thinks of the Harper government.
It goes: “Time to move on, on, on/ Get out of town, town, town.”
Among other things, the lyrics of the hootenanny-style song accuse Harper of having a “smarmy smile,” being a “two-bit control freak,” muzzling scientists, suppressing press freedom, ignoring native people, disrespecting the environment, doling out “fat-cat jobs” to friends and ignoring “the cause of everything.”
Environment Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson said that it would be inappropriate to comment on any individual case “due to privacy and confidentiality concerns.”
“Compliance with the requirements of the ‘Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector’ is a condition of employment for every public servant in the federal public sector, regardless of their level or position,” Johnson added.
Supporters of the Harperman song are organizing a cross-Canada singalong of it Sept. 17, ahead of the federal election, Oct. 19.
They’re also selling souvenir T-shirts and bumper stickers.
As they prepare their singalong, the government is investigating whether Turner breached the public service’s ethics code for writing and performing the politically-charged song.
Debi Daviau, president of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, described Turner’s suspension as an attempt at “fear-mongering and intimidation” and a denial of his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is par for the course for this government,” Daviau said.
“We are duly defending our member in the investigation,” she added.
Daviau noted that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1991 in Osborne vs. Treasury Board that civil servants can take part in political activity, if it doesn’t impede their ability to do their job impartially or leave a perception of compromise.
Daviau said she can’t see how Turner’s folk song impedes his impartiality in mapping bird migrations.
“It (the song) had no relation whatever to his duties as a public servant,” Daviau said.
“Our position is that we believe that Tony Turner hasn’t done anything wrong.
“He is simply expressing himself through a folk song like any other artist might do.”
In addition to his work as a scientist, Turner has been an Ottawa-area musician since 1994 when he joined Writers’ Bloc, an Ottawa songwriters’ collective.