New Safeguards for Whistleblowers

By Carole Robinson Oliver

Photo: Bill Rankin

A government scientist is pressured by senior management to manipulate the data on a new drug so it can be brought to market quickly. A contract officer discovers her manager is using a government credit card to pay for personal travel.

A correctional officer learns that the deputy warden of his institution is getting kickbacks from local merchants for bulk purchases of supplies.

Until 2007, none of these public servants would have been protected against threats, harassment, demotion or firing, had they chosen to blow the whistle on these wrongdoings.

It took a combination of the sponsorship scandal and the well-publicized case of George Radwanski, former Federal Privacy Commissioner, to spur legislation that, for the first time in Canada’s history, protects federal employees against reprisal for reporting government wrongdoing within the federal public sector.

The new whistleblowing law, officially titled the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), requires each government department to create an internal disclosure office to receive, screen and investigate reports of wrongdoing. It also defines what constitutes wrongdoing and protects the identity of both complainants and respondents.

At the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), the Internal Disclosure and Investigations Office, within the Values and Ethics Branch, is headed by Susan Roberts, a 30-year veteran of CSC. Employees can reach her office at all times, via email or local and toll-free numbers.

“People are nervous when they phone us,” says Susan Roberts. She tries to allay fears by reminding callers that their names will not be released, nor will the circumstances around their complaint be divulged. “Until the Act came into effect this year, we couldn’t give that guarantee,” she points out, adding that the special phone line doesn’t have call display.

To investigate complaints, Susan Roberts and her team need to know all the facts, including times, dates and the name of the person alleged to have committed the wrongdoing. Information must come directly from the complainant.

“We tell them at the beginning: ‘If you don’t want to give your name, you don’t have to, but try to give us the details, because we can’t just go on gossip or third-party information.’ ”

There is always the risk of complaints being made in bad faith, Roberts acknowledges, but the process has safeguards built in at each stage.

“When we investigate, we usually get the subject matter expert involved,” Roberts adds. “For example, if it was credit card misuse, we’d get somebody from Finance to be part of the investigation. Of course, anything of a crim­inal nature gets turned over to the police immediately.”

Since the Act came into effect, the Internal Disclosure and Investigations team has initiated cross-country information sessions to raise staff awareness of the new legislation and what it means for them.

To report any wrongdoing in the workplace, employees have three options:

They can disclose the wrongdoing to their supervisor and specify that the information is protected disclosure in order to be protected by the PSDPA.

They can contact the Internal Disclosure and Investigations Office by phone at 1 866 355-0996 (across Canada) or 613 996-8380 (National Capital Region) or by e-mail at the following address GEN-NHQ Values and Ethics/Valeurs et éthique.

Wrongdoings can also be reported through Public Sector Integrity Canada if employees are more comfortable reporting externally or if they feel their complaint should be reviewed by a third party. The office can be reached by phone: 1 866 941-6400 (across Canada) or 613 941-6400 (National Capital Region). ♦