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Petition to the Prime Minister of Canada:

People in our communities are suffering due to the serious consequences of suppression of whistle blowers. [i] This is happening due to lack of effective, protective laws and dysfunctional cultures in Canada’s governments and private sector organizations.  

Fact:

•  Canada does not protect whistleblowers.

In 1993, for the first time, a political party promised strong whistleblower protection legislation. Today, some 32 years later there is still none that is meaningful.  Political leaders federally have resolutely resisted reform up to and including:

• disobeying a statute in 2012 [ii] and
• rejecting a 2017 unanimous report of an all-party Parliamentary Committee recommending improvements to the federal law to protect public servant whistleblowers. [iii]

It is well past time to fix this.

Problem: 

Canada’s federal whistleblower law is known to be the worst in the world. [iv] Provincial laws are similarly weak. [v]  Only approximately 2% of workers – mostly public servants – are covered under (unworkable) legislation.  The other 98% in the private sector & non-profit sectors are left to fend for themselves.  

Whistleblowing is known throughout the democratic world as the single most effective weapon to combat corruption, regulatory failure, fraud and other wrongdoing.  Yet each year, we at Whistleblowing Canada have to tell whistleblowers - who call us from across the country with knowledge of serious wrongdoing including crimes – that the only safe way to report in Canada is anonymously. [vi]

They never imagined they would be punished for doing their jobs honestly and with integrity.  And, they often suffer devastating harm and losses - of mental and physical health, of their profession, of work, of family, and are devalued and dehumanized from which some never recover.[vii]

Consequences:

Reprisals, inaction and resulting silence ensure wrongdoing and corruption flourish at great costs to individuals and society.  And, continuing to permit reprisals against whistleblowers raises concerns about legitimizing organizational lawlessness and accepting corruption in government as a norm.  Worse, ongoing inaction  can trigger loss of public trust and undermine the rule of law.  

Solution:

We urge you Prime Minister, in light of the last 32 years of declining to  improve laws while corruption grew, [viii] to fulfil Canadians rightful expectation that your government will take action as an urgent priority to ban retaliation against whistleblowers.  You can do this by:

•  Replacing ineffective federal legislation such as the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) with a workable law that includes the 20 best practices for such laws.
• Ensuring the new legislation protects all persons without qualification, who have knowledge of  and report an organization’s wrongdoing.  This includes members of the public along with  public, private and non-profit sector employees, contractors, former employees, volunteers, citizens who receive services, etc.
• Including in the legislation the requirement for training of employees, and a Change Management/Behavior Change Communication Plan as part of implementation.
• Establishing an oversight Parliamentary Committee to ensure proper implementation and feedback.
• Adequately funding the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and reforming it to give it teeth.
• Replacing Section 425.1 of the criminal code with a law that works.  This section ostensibly criminalizes retaliation against people who report crimes to authorities such as the police.  However, the problem is, it is so unworkable that even though it was passed in 2004, it appears that there has never been a case prosecuted under it. [ix] It is a dead letter.
• Including a special mechanism for national security whistleblowers  from National Defense, CSIS, RCMP, CBSA etc. to safely disclose concerns around top secret national security matters as per recommendations of Brian McAdam in his 2006 brief to Parliament.  
• Ensuring reporting persons expenses – legal and otherwise – are paid for from a public fund.

Reasons for Change:

Many recent scandals demonstrate the need for major change in our approach to whistleblowing and whistleblowers.  Several preventable current crises can be linked to the suppression of whistleblowers from then Foreign Affairs, CSIS and the RCMP in the mid 1990’s:

• Entry into Canada of organized crime from other countries particularly China.
• Concurrent human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, inflated housing prices and associated addiction and housing crises.[x]

Other recent scandals might never have been exposed without the courageous action of whistleblowers such as:

* Election Interference,  * The WE Charity scandal, *The SNC Lavalin affair,    * The ArriveCan scandal,   * Sustainable Development and Technology Canada scandal.

Banning retaliation backed up by effective legislation and attention to culture change will:

•  Improve the culture and ethical climate in organizations.
• Encourage people to speak up, inhibit the growth of corruption and begin the process of rebuilding trust.  Recent surveys of public servants indicate some 50%  do not believe they can safely use the system.
• Demonstrate sincere leadership, a willingness to be more transparent and accountable and help rebuild  declining public trust.
• Restore Canada’s diminished standing in international anti-corruption circles.

Call to Action 

Please sign this petition and help us show our political leaders that we care about whistleblowers,  the future of our country and democratic way of life. Let them know we are aware whistleblowers are the first and best line of defense against corruption and wrongdoing and they must be protected so they can protect us.

Conclusion

We need your support to make our communities and workplaces safe to raise concerns by banning retaliation against those who speak-up and tell the truth. Join us in demanding change today.  It is no exaggeration to say, our democratic way of life depends on it.

References

 [i] Whistleblowing Canada – Whistleblower Stories – Consequences page.
[ii] The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) Section 54, 5 Year Review.  Disobeying a statute - is a Criminal Code offence - Section 126. 
[iii] Submission to Parliament April 17, 2023 - OGGO Committee - C290
[iv] Are whistleblowing laws working. A global study of whistleblower protection litigation by International Bar Association and Government Accountability Project.
[v] Whistleblowing in Canada: a Knowledge Synthesis Report.  by Florian Martin-Bariteau and Veronique Newman.
[vi]            "
[vii] Whistleblower Retaliation Checklist: A New Instrument For Identifying Retaliatory Tactics and Their Psychosocial Impacts After An Employee Discloses Workplace Wrongdoing by Jacqueline Garrick, and Martina Buck, PhD  and The Bullied Brain by Jennifer Fraser.
[viii] Access to Justice for Whistleblowers: A Report of a Survey of Ontario Lawyers.
[ix] Retaliation Against Whistleblowers is a Crime by Peter Bowal, Professor of Law at the University of Calgary.
[x] Willful Blindness: How a Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West by Sam Cooper and Submission to House Legislative Committee.  Bill C-11 as amended by Bill C-2:  Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, May 30, 2006.  By Brian McAdam.