Blow the whistle and get paid? Tories are studying the idea

NUPGE's Larry Brown says basic protection of whistleblowers must come before Canada goes chasing off on 'tangents" in the United States

Ottawa (15 March 2006) - The Conservative government of Stephen Harper has sent a Tory MP to Washington to study an American law that pays a bounty to whistleblowers who successfully sue companies that defraud the government or waste taxpayers' money.

Pierre Poilievre, MP for the Ottawa area riding of Nepean-Carleton, is meeting this week with a number of U.S. lawmakers and officials to discuss the U.S. False Claims Act and see how it might be incorporated into new accountability legislation the Tories plan to introduce when Parliament reconvenes on April 3.

The trip raises new questions about what the Conservative strategy for whistleblower legislation in Canada will turn out to be.

Basic protection first

"It is hard to see why the government would be off chasing tangents like paying for whistleblowers before they have established the basic protection for whistleblowers that people have been crying out for," says Larry Brown, NUPGE's national secretary-treasurer.

"History proves that we have a large number of honest public sector workers that are prepared to call misdeeds to account, without expecting payment for their actions. What they expect is protection, and they haven't had it," Brown notes.

"What we need is clear, firm legal protection for those who blow the whistle. We don't need to begin by offering to pay people to scrounge up accusations."

It is not yet clear that Harper and his government are committed to all aspects of the highly-publicized accountability reforms that helped bring them to office.

Proposals vs. promises

Since the Jan. 23 Canadian election, Poilivere and other Tories have taken to calling the measures in their election platform "proposals" rather than promises. And, in the case of his trip to Washington, the MP has gone out of his way to downplay the probability of "false claims" legislation in Canada.

"There may be problems or flaws with the proposal that I will learn about," the MP told the Ottawa Citizen. "Perhaps it's not a perfect fit for the Canadian experience, so it's just under consideration."

It's unclear why the government is spending so much time consulting on its reforms after spelling out their promises so clearly to voters.

There is speculation that they may be trying to create a smokescreen that will provide cover for a weaker package of reforms than Harper promised the country he would implement.

The False Claims Act dates back to the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s. It was amended in 1986 to allow for the "deputization" of private citizens to help fight fraud by allowing anyone with information of wrongdoing to sue on behalf of the U.S. government.

Appealing to 'base instinct'

The idea of paying citizens financial inducements to blow the whistle has been floated from time to time in Canada in the past. However, it has its critics. One of them is Ken Kernaghan, an expert on whistleblowing at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont.

Kernaghan says the idea has been rejected in the past on grounds that it appeals to "base instinct" and could result in bogus or frivolous claims.

NUPGE has campaigned for many years for the adoption of substantive legislation to protect whistleblowers at all levels of government. The union will keep members and components updated as events occur. NUPGE

More information:
• Are the Tories wavering on new whistleblower legislation?
• Whistleblowing in Canada – progress or lip service?
• The case for whistleblowing legislation in Canada