Tory whistleblower law yields nothing after first full year

Fears expressed by NUPGE borne out in first report by Public Sector Integrity Commissioner

Ottawa (30 May 2008) - One full year after the Harper Conservatives' new whistleblower protection became law, the verdict is in and it's not much to brag about.

No wrongdoing was uncovered in the entire federal public service as a result of the law – which lies at the heart of the so-called Federal Accountability Act the Conservatives passed after taking office in February 2006.

Christiane Ouimet, the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner appointed as a requirement of the new law, says in her first official report to Parliament that she received a total of 200 inquiries and 59 allegations of wrongdoing during the year, most of which were deemed to be workplace grievances or personal complaints.

As such, the complaints were directed to other human rights or public service offices within the government. Of the 59 cases of alleged wrongdoing, 10 were promptly weeded out on jurisdictional grounds and another 25 were later added to the list or dismissed for failing to meet requirements set out in the new law. A further 19 complaints remain under review and two are at "pre-investigation" stage. Formal investigations were launched in only three cases, two of which have already been tossed out. Only one inquiry remains active. Of the two investigations that went nowhere, one was related to public health and safety and the other to government procurement practices.

Even Ouiment sounded apologetic about her report, especially in noting how many cases were passed on to other government offices. “That tells us we need to continue our strong focus on educating and informing the public sector and the public about who we are and what we do, with a view to making this office as effective as possible,” she said.

The lack of substance in the report bears out concerns expressed by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) when the legislation was presented to Parliament.

"Whistleblowers, under C-2, will have more protection than they used to have," Larry Brown, NUPGE's national secretary-treasurer said in a brief to the parliamentary committee that studied the bill. "But we feel the move forward is so begrudging, so ultimately controlling and protective of the federal government as an employer, that it becomes, in the end, a far from satisfactory result." NUPGE