Whistleblowing: The Risk Management Tool of the Future?

N.B. introduces whistleblower legislation
Last Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007 | 8:41 AM AT
CBC News

The New Brunswick provincial government introduced legislation Wednesday that will prevent employees from being punished if they blow the whistle on bosses and colleagues who are breaking laws.

Human Resources Minister Wally Stiles said he hopes the new law won't have to be used very often, but if civil servants spot something wrong, they will be able to report it to a supervisor or the province's conflict of interest commissioner without fear of punishment.

"In the act itself, there is full protection for that civil servant to actually come forward, and whether he chooses to give [his] name or not, he can work that out with the conflict of interest commissioner."

The Public Interest Disclosure Act covers crimes, mismanagement of public funds and actions that create a health or safety risk to the public or the environment.

Beyond civil servants in government departments, the bill will also protect employees of hospital authorities, school boards and Crown corporations, including NB Power.

"I need to applaud this government for stepping forward and presenting this bill," said Tom Mann, executive director of the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees.

Mann said he has dealt with government workers who wanted to report a problem but were too scared to do so.

"This bill, what I see in it is an opportunity for the public good to be protected," Mann said.

The act will make a more accountable and open government, Stiles said.

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Bill 8: Public Interest Disclosure Act
New Brunswick

Disclosure of Wrongdoing

Wrongdoings to which this Act applies
3 This Act applies to the following wrongdoings in or relating to the public service:
(a) an act or omission constituting an offence under an Act of the Legislature or the Parliament of Canada, or a regulation made under an Act;
(b) an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of an employee;
(c) gross mismanagement, including of public funds or a public asset;
(d) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing described in paragraphs (a) to (c).

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Now, I'm pretty happy when any jurisdiction sees fit to enact Whistleblower legislation, but to my eye, this is flawed right from the get go due to the language of sub-section b.

It's sad that this has to be explained, but many whistleblowers, union reps, advocates, or just plain workers are subjected to "danger" in their course of duties precisely because their employers (sometimes governments) are guilty of negligence and wrongdoing in the first place. Can someone explain to me why in 2008 workers, no matter what level they are at, why dangerous, negligent and high-risk occupations are exempted from employers from safety? I've worked in high-risk occupations, I know many others who work in them as well. Many of these people are the real heroes in our society. Why do they deserve less coverage and concern for the "danger" they experience "on the job" where they are often helping create safety and wellbeing for others.

Having also seen what passes for "internal investigations" of wrongdoing, the authorities might want to get a bit more serious about this and actually have people who are trained to do more than push paper.

Again, the point is, employers, governments and legislators better wake up & smell the fair trade brewing, there are not enough people left to fill the seats you need to fill, you better start making safety and justice a priority for ALL WORKERS.

It's as simple as this: the rot and stench of "wrongdoing" and corruption is deep in many levels of government and in many organizations. Most workers smell it daily and most learn to turn a blind eye for their own health, because they need their jobs to shelter & feed their families. Until governments and organizations get serious at changing their protective and insular organizational cultures and get rid of the rotten fruit, no amount of legislation, or policies are going to improve things. And, at the end of the day, organizations of all sizes will fail miserably because of their unwillingness to clean house, because younger workers just won't stay and they will slag the organization to everyone they know. Risk management for the new millenium looks very different than it did in the past and it's time people woke up to that.