Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Prime Minister Paul Martin may call it whistleblower legislation, but journalists shouldn't, says one of the federal government's top ethics officials.

Ralph Heintzman, the vice-president of the new Office of Public Sector Values and Ethics, says the legislation should actually be called the "internal disclosure bill" because it encourages public servants to keep their concerns inside government.

Internal disclosures can be more effective at fixing problems than public reports from the auditor general, said Mr. Heintzman, who said such reports are often challenged as wrong or unsound inside government.

The senior public servant, who was tasked yesterday to provide a technical, non-partisan analysis of the bill, told journalists that the term "whistleblower bill" gives the public the wrong impression.

"They think it's some kind of public disclosure and, therefore, a bill on whistleblowing must have as its content or purpose to create a regime in which people can make public disclosure, which is not the intention of this legislation," he said.

The legislation creates a system in which public servants are encouraged to inform specific offices within their department or Crown corporation when they suspect wrongdoing. If they are uncomfortable approaching their superiors, a public servant can approach an integrity commissioner for an investigation and ultimately a report.

However, the legislation says public servants can only blow the whistle publically to the media if they witness a "serious offence" of a federal law or an activity that creates an imminent danger to humans or the environment.

Those two criteria are based on previous court rulings involving whistleblowers and Mr. Heintzman said it will be up to the courts to determine what constitutes a "serious" offence.

The senior government ethics expert says public disclosure must be discouraged because it could unfairly tarnish the reputation of individuals or departments if the allegations are ultimately proven to be false.

Privy Council President Denis Coderre will appear before a Commons committee today to defend the bill and his spokesman said the minister believes it is accurate to call the legislation a "whistleblower bill."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with using the word whistleblower. I think people can relate to that," said Mark Dunn. "I think that's sort of the general person-on-the-street lingo."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004