Whistleblower of the Year 2007

He stuck out his neck and was fired

Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun. Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Gord McAdams, a career civil servant fired for turning whistleblower, said Tuesday he learned something along the way from rare painted turtles he helped to save near Nelson.
"What have I learned from the turtles?" McAdams said after receiving a 2007 whistleblower award in Vancouver. "To move forward, you have to stick your neck out, but it's nice to have a hard shell."

McAdams was fired as a resource officer in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management in April 2005 after 34 years with the B.C. government, much of that in park planning.

WHISTLEBLOWER OF THE YEAR: Gord McAdams was fired as a B.C. resource officer after 34 years with the government. Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun.

"I had my retirement party that afternoon," he said in an interview. "They changed the locks, and told people not to associate with me. But most everybody came to my retirement party, anyways."

He caught the government's ire for providing confidential documents to the West Kootenay Community Ecosociety, which was trying to thwart plans by Bill Barisoff, then Liberal minister of Water, Land, and Air Protection, to move a road in Grohman Narrows Provincial Park.
The new road would have allowed developer Dan Bayoff to access his property for the purpose of developing a truck service maintenance yard, but it was also regarded as a threat to the painted turtles.

McAdams's documents were instrumental in B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janet Sinclair-Prowse ruling in May 2005 that the minister had made an "unauthorized exercise of his statutory power."

McAdams said his pension was not affected by the firing, but that other benefits such as sick leave and holidays totalling about five months salary were affected. With the help of the
B.C. Government Employees' Union, he subsequently reached a settlement with the B.C. government. Details are confidential.

Barisoff, who became Speaker of the House in September 2005, said in response Tuesday he has no regrets, arguing his decision to move the road was done in collaboration with transportation ministry officials to provide the safest vehicle access. He added the plan also involved enhancement of the park to benefit the turtles.

"Purely from a parks [legislative] perspective, we probably overstepped our bounds," he said.
"But for the travelling public and the enhancement of the turtles, we made the right decision."
Barisoff said he couldn't comment on the need for whistleblower legislation, given his position as Speaker.

McAdams, who is a Nelson councillor, received the award from the Freedom of Information and Privacy Association and the Campaign for Open Government, which are urging the province to whistleblower legislation.

Such disparate groups as the Western Canada Wilderness Committee and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, both present at the news conference, are in favour of such legislation.
"Corruption thrives in an environment of secrecy," said federation director Maureen Bader. "Whistleblowers are the last line of defence for the taxpayer and those acting in the public interest where the government isn't."

In the absence of such legislation, McAdams urged other civil servants who might consider following his lead to be "very careful" but that "if you look inside your soul, I think you'll know."

NDP MLA Shane Simpson has introduced a private member's bill, the Whistleblowers Protection Act. He admits it won't be passed by government, but hopes it at least increases public pressure for such legislation.

lpynn@png.canwest.com
The Vancouver Sun DIGITAL

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Whistleblowers Courage Lead to Changes in RCMP

RCMP report expected to shake up force

Last Updated: Friday, December 14, 2007 6:29 AM ET
CBC News

Excerpts:

A report expected to recommend sweeping changes to the RCMP will be released in Ottawa on Friday in response to sliding public confidence in the national police force and low morale within its ranks. ...

Expected recommendations include an arm's-length ombudsman, to whom front-line officers could raise concerns without fear of reprisals. ...

Chief Supt. Fraser MacAuley blew the whistle on the Mounties' pension fund scandal, which led to Brown's first investigation. He was among those Mounties who said he came forward when he saw wrongdoing within the force, only to be punished for his efforts.

"We know what is going on," MacAulay said in April during his appearance at a parliamentary committee. "I was removed because I came forward, that is all."

Introduction of Bill M233, Whistleblower Protection Act - BC

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT, 2007

S. Simpson presented a bill entitled Whistleblower Protection Act, 2007.

S. Simpson: I move a bill entitled the Whistleblower Protection Act, 2007, and ask that it be introduced and read for a first time now.

Motion approved.

S. Simpson: The Whistleblower Protection Act, 2007, will facilitate the disclosure and investigation of significant and serious matters in or relating to the public service that are potentially unlawful, dangerous or injurious to the public or that demonstrate a gross mismanagement of public funds or assets or an impact on the environment. The bill will protect those persons who disclose that information from retribution.

The bill calls for a structure to be created within each ministry to facilitate those disclosures and requires an annual public reporting of all issues raised under the legislation. It empowers the Ombudsman to both provide oversight to this legislation and be a source for disclosures of complaints under the act as well. Further, the bill lays out a process to protect against malicious complaints that are not founded.

The growing secrecy of this government and its methodical and unforgiving approach to shutting down transparency have compelled the introduction of this bill. Far too often we hear in the areas of the environment, children, seniors and health care, among others, about government decisions, actions or conduct that are not in the public interest.

There are situations where government employees or employees of organizations that are contracted with government would come forward to disclose those concerns and bring them to light, but they feel intimidated or concerned about the security of their jobs, so they stay silent.

If we truly want open government, we need to remove that risk and encourage dedicated civil servants and service providers to come forward when they feel compelled to shine a light on government irregularities or unacceptable conduct. The Whistleblower Protection Act, 2007, is intended to provide government workers and service providers that opportunity and the necessary protections to be able to come forward with confidence that they will not face retribution from the government.

I move this bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill M233, Whistleblower Protection Act, 2007, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

BC Coroners Service and Medical Mistakes

<>News and Views

Whistleblower urges more medical inquests

News and Views By Charlie Smith

Publish Date: August 18, 2005

An ex-coroner has claimed that the public is being denied information about deaths caused by medical mistakes. Kathleen Stephany, formerly the coroner in charge of special investigations, told the Georgia Straight that this is because the office of the chief coroner won't order inquests into medical-related deaths.

Stephany said that she was fired and her former department of medical investigations, which once had 12 employees, was eliminated in 2003 with "no real justification". Since then, the Coroners Service of British Columbia hasn't ordered a single inquest into a death linked to negligence by a physician or hospital.

...

In 2004, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published a report that suggested medical errors are quite commonplace. It estimated that 7.5 percent of people admitted to Canadian hospitals in 2000 suffered an "adverse event", which was defined as anything causing death, disability, or an extended hospital stay; almost 40 percent of these were preventable. The study also estimated that there were between 9,250 and 23,750 "preventable deaths" in Canadian hospitals that year.

Read more

Whistleblowers in the News

PrimeTime Crime
Leo Knight,

Whistleblowers: Canada is not a good place to be for whistleblowers.
Media stories and reports on ethical resisters from around North America.

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Labour Environmental Alliance Society

The public needs whistleblowers

To stay informed, the public needs whistle blowers — and whistle blowers need protection in their collective agreements.

Why do they need protection?

Many employees who become aware of wrongdoing try to right the wrong by going through channels within the organization. That means they often end up reporting to the alleged wrongdoers themselves and nothing happens. If anything, the employee is cautioned not to get involved.

If, out of deep ethical or professional concern, they do “go public,” employees face the prospect of being fired or demoted. Even if they’re not fired, they can be made to feel cornered or isolated — victims of a poisoned work environment.

Unions have already provided a valuable service to society by working hard to win provisions in collective agreement that protect people from sexual and racial harassment. Now we need the same kind of protection for whistleblowers.

When an employee has gone through all the internal channels without resolution, the collective agreement should provide for a third party process, such as arbitration.

Read more

Whistle-blower protection in BC

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of BC

[RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 165

Part 3 — Protection of Privacy

Division 1 — Collection, Protection and Retention of Personal Information by Public Bodies

Whistle-blower protection

30.3 An employer, whether or not a public body, must not dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage an employee of the employer, or deny that employee a benefit, because

(a) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has notified the minister responsible for this Act under section 30.2,

(b) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has disclosed to the commissioner that the employer or any other person has contravened or is about to contravene this Act,

(c) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has done or stated an intention of doing anything that is required to be done in order to avoid having any person contravene this Act,

(d) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has refused to do or stated an intention of refusing to do anything that is in contravention of this Act, or

(e) the employer believes that an employee will do anything described in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).

Whistleblower Articles

Coroner Whistleblowers Rebuffed by Les: Solicitor General rejects concerns by Committee for Competent Death Reviews.

Quentin Dodd and David Beers, (February 10, 2006). Tyee.ca

Don't Shoot the Whistleblower: Our early warning system for scandals fails because sounding alarms is too risky. Let's change that.

By Mitchell Anderson, (March 1, 2004). Tyee.ca

Whistleblower legislation Bill C-25, Disclosure Protection

Wednesday, March 31 2004 @ 06:00 AM PST

The Liberal government introduced Bill C-25 - the Disclosure Protection legislation commonly known as "whistleblower" legislation - in March 2004. The bill was introduced in response to the sponsorship scandal in which the auditor general accused the government of squandering $100 million in bogus payments to several Quebec advertising firms that allegedly did little or no work for the money.

The proposed law, introduced by Privy Council President Denis Coderre, is intended to protect people who speak out about problems in the government's bureaucracy. The proposed legislation says that it is "part of the government's broader commitment to ensure transparency, accountability, financial responsibility and ethical conduct." It's the first time bureaucrats have been offered legal protection against reprisals for reporting government wrongdoing.

Complaints will be investigated by the public service integrity commissioner, who in turn will report to a cabinet minister and not directly to Parliament. The commissioner will also make recommendations on corrective measures.

Bill C-25, which covers all federal public sector workers and Crown corporation employees, requires heads of federal organizations to establish an internal disclosure mechanism. It calls for a code of conduct and is intended to provide protections in law from reprisals.

Whistleblower legislation is not extended to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Communications Security Establishment and uniformed members of the RCMP or the Armed Forces. These agencies are required to create a similar code of conduct and reprisal protection for employees.

Whistleblower Quotes

We need whistleblowers. They keep our institutions honest. From Enron, to Walkerton, to the intelligence failures around 9-11, whistleblowers have made a huge contribution to informing the public and fighting corruption and incompetence. It is time the Canada joined other developed nations of the world and gave whistleblowers the strong legal protection they deserve.

Mitchell Anderson, Published: March 1, 2004, Tyee.ca

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"Accounting scandals, interference in scientific research, environmental cover-ups... From Enron to BC's fish farm, whistleblower protections are needed to keep governments and corporations accountable. Why are there so few protections for people who find the courage to speak out in the public interest?"
From promotional material for the March 27, 2003 Whistleblower Public Forum at the Vancouver Public Library sponsored by the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Welcome

Welcome to our new blog, Whistleblowers BC. We are looking forward to providing resources, media reports and opportunities for those in the Whistleblower community in BC and Canada. Yes, that's right, there are many individuals and groups that make up this community and network of courageous, dedicated ethical resisters and iconoclasts (aka Whistleblowers) out there.

It is our goal to create this blog to help and support those of us who are committed to exposing injustice, corruption and mismanagement wherever it can be found, no matter the cost to ourselves, and we know there are costs to being the ones in the White hats. This is a citizen driven organization. We are not lawyers, nor can we represent people., or give people legal advice. However we can offer grassroots advice and support based on personal experience, knowledge of labor relations, government, private sector and community involvement, and information gained from research and literature on Whistleblowing, or ethical resistance.

Should you be interested, or in need of help, or have information you would like to disclose, but are unsure of how to go about this, or whether to do so, we may be able to help. For more information, you can e-mail us at: whistleblowersBC@gmail.com

We hold confidentiality sacred, as well as anonymonity as we recognize the harm that can befall those who do the right thing and disclose information of wrongdoing.

Keep the Faith and Trust Yourself.