Canada has 'abysmal' whistleblower protections, advocates call out Trudeau directly for inaction
Canada ranks among the worst in the world when it comes to protecting whistleblowers, according to a recent report.
The Washington-based Government Accountability Project ranked 61 countries on their whistleblowing protection laws. Canada is tied for last with Lebanon and Norway.
The ranking examined 20 factors, including the ability to report problems safely within a company, protecting identities when it comes to confidential disclosures and the guarantee of not being worse off than before blowing the whistle.
Canada was given just one point out of 20 for having a system in place to review the current law after five years. That five-year review didn’t happen for a decade.
Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, says Canada’s whistleblower law is “weaker than a cardboard shield,” adding that current protections are “more like a tissue paper shield.”
The federal law that does exist only covers public servants, not private citizens.
“Canada is one of the few countries in the world that [has a] national whistleblower law limited to the public sector.” said Devine.
In 2017, Devine appeared before a House of Commons committee that studied Canada’s existing law. Robust new recommendations to enhance protections for whistleblowers were unanimously approved. But, key recommendations have not been implemented.
Devine blames Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We were rolling towards an upgrade of Canada's whistleblower, a real, comprehensive makeover. But he was elected. Everyone was optimistic. He killed it. And then a few years later, I could understand why, because he was facing scandals of his own,” says Devine.
Trudeau has faced questions about political interference in the SNC-Lavalin Affair and a half-million dollar agreement given to the WE Charity group. Then-ethics commissioner Mary Dawson also found him to be in violation of the conflict of interest act by accepting the gift of accommodation and travelling on a non-commercial aircraft to Aga Khan’s private island.
Canadian whistleblower advocate David Hutton, the senior fellow at Centre for Free Expression, says only public demand will lead to stronger whistleblower protections.
“We have no shortage of scandals, but we just don’t have the pressure because the public has not got sufficiently angry about it or not made the connection that this could be prevented if whistleblowers had protection.”
W5 requested an on-camera interview with Trudeau to respond to the claims. Instead, a statement was provided, claiming that the Government Accountability Project “did not paint an accurate picture of the approach taken in Canada” because it failed to recognize that Parliament can’t impose whistleblowing laws on provincial and municipal governments.
During a press conference on Jan. 12, W5 asked Trudeau about allegations that his personal scandals play a role in Canada’s weak protection of whistleblowers.
“As a government we have consistently stood up for openness and transparency and brought forward reforms that have supported people coming forward to highlight wrongdoing in workplaces or institutions across the country and we will continue to do just that,” said Trudeau.
Hutton says most whistleblowers who come to him are shocked to discover how little protection they have.
“We’re trained to trust government and to believe that official channels will work and justice will prevail. Whistleblowers that come to us are typically far too trusting and not understanding what they’re up against.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Local Spotlight
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.