Normally, the tools you use at work, including your computer and the network, belong to your employer. Treasury Board has a Policy on Acceptable Network and Device Use which applies to federal public service employers. The labour board (FPSLREB) has confirmed that there should be no expectation of privacy when communicating electronically at work on the employer’s system. Your employer could therefore monitor your compliance with the policy and acceptable use of its system, which includes accessing your mailbox when you are on leave and the work must go on. The employer could also conduct an internal investigation to check whether your use of the equipment is acceptable. However, accessing your mailbox without just cause, simply to harass you, may potentially be an abuse of the power extended to management in the collective agreement and a violation of employer policy.