House report calls for more protections for whistleblowers

Government whistleblowers deserve more protections, advocates say, but doubts over the government’s commitment to openness abound after the Liberals broke promises last week on access- toinformation reform.

A House of Commons committee released a report this month suggesting a slew of reforms, and a spokesman for Treasury Board president Scott Brison says the government “will carefully consider its recommendations.”

But advocates worry the all-party asks will be ignored, after a watered-down update to access-to-information law was introduced earlier this week.

“Plainly, if the Liberals don’t strengthen whistleblower protection they will break their open government promise. Because you won’t have openness by default unless you have whistleblower protection,” said Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch.

Legislation intended to protect whistleblowers was revamped by the Conservative government in 2007. Statutory review was required five years after the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act’s coming-into-force, but the government reset the clock to zero in 2010 with a measure buried in an omnibus budget bill.

The federal election caused further delay in 2015, but Brison finally pulled the trigger on a review, by a House of Commons committee, last year.

The resulting report was adopted unanimously by committee members, including Liberal MPs, and-released last week. Cabinet will need to respond within six months.

It features 15 recommendations designed to address challenges including a “lack of clarity around the public interest purposes of the act,” insufficient protection of whistleblowers and “inadequate” annual reporting. Witnesses had highlighted an impression within the public service that whistleblowing would lead to punishment.

MPs want to see the government make amendments to law that would, among other things: expand definitions under the act; protect and support whistleblowers and prevent retaliation against them; reverse the burden of proof of reprisals from the whistleblower to the employer; provide legal and procedural advice to public servants thinking of whistleblowing; improve confidentiality provisions for witnesses; make the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner responsible for standardizing internal disclosure processes; and implement mandatory, timely reporting of disclosure activities. The report notes reforms to be considered later could include granting whistleblower protection to all employees, public or private, and “implementing the payment of rewards to those that uncover certain types of wrongdoing.”

Conacher isn’t optimistic whistleblower recommendations will immediately lead to new laws. He predicted if Liberals act, they may wait until closer to an election.