Whistleblower Protection
The Issue
Public or private sector employees who report illegal, unethical or abusive institutional behaviour typically face retaliation, which can include discipline, ostracism, social stigmatization, demotion, dismissal, and criminal charges. Laws in Canada to protect whistleblowers are largely ineffective and sometimes counterproductive -- the legal forum created by the laws can be a vehicle for formally endorsing the retaliation.
Why It Matters
Whistleblowing serves vital institutional and public purposes. It allows issues of concern to be identified and resolved internally, where possible, and, where not, it brings alleged wrongdoing to public attention so problems can be corrected and future harm avoided.
Our Work
The tasks of the Centre for Free Expression Whistleblowing Initiative include:
- Investigating the Phoenix payroll system failure;
- Establishing an advice line to support whistleblowers;
- Organizing public events on whistleblowing;
- Evaluating existing whistleblowing laws in Canada;
- Making recommendations for new / improved Canadian whistleblowing laws;
- Maintaining an up-to-date database of major whistleblowing cases in Canada;
- Conducting benchmarking research in Canada on organizational whistleblowing; practices in both the public and private sectors;
- Assisting with the adoption of effective public and private sector organizational whistleblowing policy and procedures;
- Representing Canada in the Whistleblowing International Network
Resources
CFE's David Hutton publishes commentary on federal whistleblowing report
David Hutton, CFE Senior Fellow, comments on recent Commons committee report on whistleblower protection and what the Federal Goverment should do next.
June 30, 2017
CFE calls for action on new federal whistleblowing report
The Centre for Free Expression has encouraged the Trudeau government to implement the recommendations of today’s standing committee report on improving Canada’s federal whistleblowing law.
The Government Operations Committee report recommends a number of changes to provide genuine protection to federal civil servants that blow the whistle on government wrongdoing.
“The report’s recommendations go a long way to fixing a law that has failed to protect federal whistleblowers since it was introduced ten years ago by the Harper Government,” said David Hutton, Senior Fellow at the Ryerson University Centre for Free Expression and one of Canada’s leading experts on whistleblowing.
June 16, 2017
The Hill Times publishes CFE Senior Fellow David Hutton’s critical examination of federal whistleblower protection
CFE Senior Fellow David Hutton has published an excellent 4-part series in The Hill Times that critically examines federal whistleblower protection in Canada.
March 3, 2017
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