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.