Providing real protection for whistleblowers

On April 11, 2006, the Government of Canada introduced the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan, delivering on its commitment to make government more accountable. This is one of a series of fact sheets describing proposed actions to respond to this commitment.

The context

The Public Service of Canada is a multifaceted institution staffed by professional, dedicated, and highly skilled people. Its employees play a crucial role in supporting the Government's agenda and helping it deliver programs and services to citizens. Canadians have every right to expect that public-office holders and public-sector employees behave ethically and in accordance with their legal obligations. The public sector must, therefore, foster an environment in which employees may honestly and openly raise concerns without fear or threat of reprisal.

The Action Plan

The Government of Canada will provide real protection for public-sector employees who disclose government wrongdoing. The Federal Accountability Act will:

• make the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner an Agent of Parliament with an expanded mandate;
• give public-sector employees direct access to the Commissioner to report wrongdoing in the workplace;
• give the Commissioner the authority to deal with complaints, conduct investigations, and attempt to conciliate a settlement between the parties;
• create an independent Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, with the power to decide whether reprisal occurred and to order action to remedy the situation and ensure that those who took reprisal are disciplined;
• introduce specific penalties for offences under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, including tougher penalties for those who willfully impede investigations of wrongdoing;
• give the Commissioner the power to authorize free access to legal advice for both public-sector and non-public-sector employees;
• remove the ability of the Government to exclude Crown corporations from coverage under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act; and
• provide more open access to information about disclosures of wrongdoing.

For more information

For more information on this specific measure, please refer to the relevant section of the Action Plan, or contact us.