PMO staff use dodgy email practices to conduct business

The member of staff to blame was Trudeau’s senior speechwriter Gabrielle Cesvet, who describes herself as an “annoyingly proud Montrealer.”

It subsequently turns out that she may also be an annoyingly reckless staffer, as she broke a “public duty” outlined by the Information Commissioner: namely, the “retention of all emails that are records of business value.”

She did this by inviting CVs to her personal Gmail account through twitter. On Jan. 10, Cesvet tweeted “The Prime Minister’s Office is looking to hire a new English or bilingual speechwriter! Candidates should be good writers, hard workers and team players. If you’re interested, message me.”

After a tsunami of emails, Cesvet then concluded that using her private email may be easier, tweeting “I’m having trouble answering everyone, so new plan! If you are interested, email me your CV, writing sample and cover letter to pmospeechwriting@gmail.com.”

By using a Gmail account for governmental business, Cesvet essentially made it inaccessible to the Canadian public. Freedom of information requests cannot be conducted on private Gmail accounts.