OTTAWA: Governor General Julie Payette, Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Canada, has resigned ahead of the release of a scathing report on workplace harassment claims leveled against her office, local media said Thursday.

The independent review had been ordered by the government last July when allegations of a "toxic" climate in the office first surfaced.

Canadian media, citing unnamed sources, said the review's conclusions were damning.

Current and former staff at the governor general's office alleged that Payette bullied, yelled at and publicly humiliated staff, some of whom left her office in tears.

Payette responded at the time that she took the allegations very seriously.

Payette, a 57-year-old a former astronaut, had been nominated to the largely ceremonial post by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017 to represent Queen Elizabeth II in the Commonwealth country.

Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner, per protocol, is expected to assume the duties of the viceregal representative -- including giving royal ascent or making acts passed by parliament law -- until a new governor general is named.