NDP candidate Emilie Taman loses bid to campaign and keep federal prosecutor job

The Federal Court has ruled the Public Service Commission used "proportionate balancing" when it denied a federal prosecutor a leave of absence without pay to seek the federal NDP nomination in Ottawa-Vanier.

Emilie Taman applied for a judicial review after losing her job when she decided to run against Liberal incumbent Mauril Bélanger.

I wanted to have clarity from the court for the benefit of my colleagues and those who may come after me.–NDP candidate Emilie Taman

"Obviously, I'm disappointed. I have been pursuing this largely as a matter of principle," she told CBC News Wednesday about the ruling.

"I wasn't hinging my personal well-being on the outcome of this process, but I wanted to have clarity from the court for the benefit of my colleagues and those who may come after me."

Federal Court Judge Catherine Kane ruled in a decision released Tuesday that while Taman's charter rights were limited, the commission struck the right balance "with the principle of political impartiality in the public service."

Taman said she has "no regrets" that she decided to run. 

She will review the Federal Court's 51-page decision with her union before deciding whether to file an appeal. But with the federal election less than a week away, she said it might not be worth pursuing.

"I'm hopeful that the question of a judicial review will be moot because I will have a new job next week as a member of Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier," she said.

Bélanger has represented the riding federally for more than 20 years, taking nearly 62 per cent of the vote at his peak in 1997, but slipping to 38 per cent last election in 2011, as the NDP candidate took 29 per cent and the Conservative candidate took 27 per cent.

David Piccini is the Conservative candidate in this federal campaign.

Read the full Federal Court decision here.