Federal
whistleblower agency’s first report of wrongdoing is a
small step forward -- misconduct was exposed but
those responsible seem to have had a soft landing
5-year review must lead to key changes very soon
Thursday,
March 8, 2012
OTTAWA—Today civil society organizations responded to
the first ruling on a whistleblower's report of a case
of wrongdoing reported to Parliament by Integrity
Commissioner Mario Dion.
Since it was created in 2007 the Office of the Public
Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) has received more
than 300 disclosures and is currently investigating 18
of these, but has not reported any wrongdoing until
now. FAIR, Democracy Watch and the Government
Ethics Coalition, and Canadians for Accountability
expressed cautious optimism regarding today’s report
(news release link, to see backgrounder click
here, and to see full report click
here) tempered by some major concerns.
"This seems a
workmanlike investigation and report, but to me the
most striking shortcoming is the failure to sanction
or even name those responsible,” said David
Hutton of FAIR. “This
seems yet another case of the wrongdoers getting a
soft landing. Without real consequences, there’s
nothing to deter other wrongdoers, which is the whole
purpose of this agency.”
Tyler Sommers of Democracy Watch added, “The manager should be
prosecuted for violating the Financial Administration
Act and the chief executive should be reprimanded for
failing to have effective systems in place to prevent
and detect such misconduct. Also, both should be
named: there is nothing in the Privacy Act that
prevents this disclosure and the public has a clear
right to know.”
“This report, while promising, fails to send a strong
enough message because it still leaves responsible
individuals in place and unsanctioned,” said
Ian Bron of Canadians for Accountability.
There is also concern that Dion has refused to
investigate other, far more serious disclosures, such as
allegations that the government pressured Health Canada
employees to approve veterinary drugs without the
legally-required proof of human safety.
As to whether this first report signals that PSIC could
become more effective as a watchdog, the groups say it
is too early to judge. “This agency has been comatose for five
years,” said David Hutton. “We need a few more
heartbeats before we conclude that it has a
pulse. Mr. Dion should be regularly exposing the
types of serious misconduct that public servants
report to us all the time. That’s his job.
And he should be demanding strong sanctions.”
A big part of the problem, the groups say, has been that
the law is very weak, allowing the commissioner to turn
away most whistleblowers, and providing only the
illusion of protection for those who suffer
reprisals. FAIR has conducted an analysis which
reveals more than two dozen shortcomings and the groups
are calling for major changes to the legislation, which
is subject to a five-year review this year.
Democracy Watch has also published a short list of key
improvements needed.
The case report, although commendably fulsome, leaves
some important questions unanswered, particularly the
names of the individual involved and the Chief
Executive, and the sanctions applied. There is
also no information regarding the status and well-being
of the whistleblower, as well as other employees who
cooperated in the investigation. It would be helpful to
know about:
Any changes in his/her employment status?;
Whether he/she has reported any adverse actions,
either formally or informally?;
Whether a formal complaint of reprisals has been
lodged, and if so when?;
What action has been taken following any complaint
of reprisal, and;
What is the current status?
Without further information it seems
unlikely that this report will do much to repair PSIC’s
reputation and build trust among public servants.
As one participant in a recent focus group survey
commissioned by PSIC said: "Show me that these stories have happy
endings. Show me the discloser who got a promotion and
the wrongdoer who lost his job."
Allan Cutler observed "This
case does not seem to demonstrate the 'happy ending'
that honest government employees are looking for."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT:
Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch and
Chairperson of the Open
Government Coalition
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Allan Cutler, President, Canadians
for Accountability
Tel: (613) 863-4671
Ian Bron, Managing Director, Canadians for
Accountability
Tel: (613) 304-8049
To see the December
2010 report on former disgraced Integrity Commissioner
Christiane Ouimet by Auditor General Sheila Fraser, click
here.
To see why a full
audit is still needed of past cases that Ouimet failed to
investigate properly, click
here.
To see the list of
needed reforms to the Public
Servants Disclosure Protection Act, click here.
NOTE: FAIR and
the Government Ethics Coalition call on federal parties
to penalize Ouimet for her misconduct and claw back her
obscene, undeserved $500,000 severance payoff
(NOTE: The
alliance has demanded that the payoff be cancelled and has
also requested that the Auditor General audit the payoff
and all other similar recent payoffs by the federal
government).