News Release

November 27, 2003

PSAC tables whistleblowing demand 

OTTAWA – The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) tabled its contract proposal on whistleblowing yesterday during bargaining talks with Treasury Board representatives.

In spite of calls from the Public Service Integrity Officer, the Auditor General of Canada, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and even the general public for the government to provide protection to employees who “blow the whistle” on their employer, the PSAC believes that the government has failed to act decisively on this issue thus far.

“In our view, the federal government missed a golden opportunity to make a real difference in the workplace when it adopted Bill C-25, the Public Service Modernization Act without a single amendment on whistleblower protection”, says Nycole Turmel, PSAC National President.

The only recourse currently available to federal public service workers is the Policy on the Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace.   The PSC audit team investigating events in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) reported that the policy is “not, however, an effective mechanism to address wrongdoing in staffing”.

“In the absence of an effective mechanism that would allow public service workers to expose government corruption or wrongdoing without the fear of reprisal, the PSAC has no choice but to make such protection part of the collective agreement”, notes Turmel.   To this end, the PSAC tabled the following contract language to representatives of the Treasury Board negotiating team yesterday:

“No employee shall be disciplined or otherwise penalized, including but not limited to, demotion, suspension, dismissal, financial penalty, loss of seniority, advancement or opportunity in the public service, as a result of disclosing any wrongful act or omission, such as an offence against an Act of Parliament, an Act of a legislature of any province or any instrument issued under any such Act; an act or omission likely to cause a significant waste of public money; an act or omission likely to endanger public health or safety or the environment.”

              In 1993, the Liberals agreed that “public servants must be able to report about illegal or unethical behaviour they encounter on the job without fear of reprisal.   A Liberal government would introduce whistleblowing legislation in the next Parliament”.   In 2003, these words ring hollow, to say the least.  

              “Actions speak louder than words.   The employer has one more chance to get it right. The choice is clear:   They can agree to either provide whistleblower protection in the collective agreement at the bargaining table or they can choose to maintain the status quo.   However, by doing nothing, they virtually guarantee that there will be other incidents like the Radwanski affair”, concludes Turmel.

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For information:     Liz Holden, PSAC Communications, (613) 560-4280

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