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Whistle-Blowing and Disclosure of Wrongdoing. March 9 th , 2006. Whistleblowing. basic description of whisteblowing, related issues, and the whistleblowing regime the whistleblowing regime and the context of the Sponsorship Scandal whistleblowing and the Gomery Recommendations.
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Whistle-Blowing and Disclosure of Wrongdoing March 9th, 2006
Whistleblowing • basic description of whisteblowing, related issues, and the whistleblowing regime • the whistleblowing regime and the context of the Sponsorship Scandal • whistleblowing and the Gomery Recommendations
Whistleblowing... • (def): the unauthorized public disclosure of privileged information by an employee to protect the public interest • must be unauthorized • must be public • must be information the employee has access to by virtue of their job position • i.e. not simply personal opinion • vs. internal disclosure of wrongdoing
Whistleblowing... • the issue? • appropriate balance between individual rights of the employee, professional responsibilities, and their duty of loyalty to their employer • individual rights • freedom of speech (rights as citizens) • professional responsibilities • duty to protect the public interest (as public servant) • duty of loyalty (as government employee) • “Public servants owe a duty of loyalty to their employer. In serving the public interest, they are entrusted, as a fundamental part of their duties, with access to a wide range of government information and are required to treat this information responsibly and with discretion and integrity.” (TBS, PIDI 2001) • deciding whether whistleblowing is justified in particular cases
Broader Issues • How broad should justifications for whistle-blowing be drawn? • Does punishment of whistle-blowers violate their individual rights? • how much protection should be provided to whistle-blowers? • How much secrecy is tolerable/necessary in a democracy? • Will protection for whistle-blowers improve the performance of the public service? • Why? • Why not?
WhistleBlowing and the Sponsorship Scandal • whistleblower protection in place at the time of the Sponsorship Scandal? • NONE!! • broader context of whisteblowing in the Government of Canada • Joanna Gualtieri, Foreign Affairs • Shiv Chopra et al., Health Canada • Brian McAdam (Immigration Canada) and Cpl. Robert Reid (RCMP)
WhistleBlowing and the Sponsorship Scandal • whistleblower protection in place at the time of the Sponsorship Scandal? • broader context of whisteblowing in the Government of Canada • Allan Cutler and the Sponsorhip Program
Whistleblowing – Post-Sponsorship, Pre-Gomery • Internal Disclosure of Wrongdoing, 2001 • guide for internal disclosure of wrongdoing • internal vs. external disclosure • “However, in certain exceptional circumstances an employee might be justified in making an external disclosure: for example, when there is an immediate risk to the life, health or safety of the public. Employees might be also justified in making an external disclosure where they have exhausted all internal procedures.” (TBS, PIDI 2001) • wrongdoing vs. judgement • “It is recognized that deputy heads are responsible for making decisions which involve weighing the risks and benefits of various courses of action and selecting approaches which they consider to be in the best public interest, including some that carry with them a risk. The judgement call that results from a balanced and informed decision-making process would not be considered a wrongdoing within the scope of this policy.” (TBS, PIDI 2001)
