SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 122

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 1, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 122 - Nov/1/22
Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)
  • Nov/1/22 10:20:15 a.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, despite the 2006 legislation brought forward by the now Conservative leader that he claimed would protect whistle-blowers, Canada's whistle-blower regime has been cited as being among the worst in the world. Can the member explain why the Conservative government was not able to adequately protect whistle-blowers who raised questions about initiatives like ArriveCAN?
59 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 122 - Nov/1/22
Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)
  • Nov/1/22 11:08:51 a.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Trois-Rivières, as he always provides a really high level of nuance in these very important discussions. The hon. member referenced the need for transparency and trust. Having worked alongside him at the ethics committee, I know he will likely have a comprehensive answer to this. At the heart of this, we have staffers, people within the public sector, who sometimes witness malfeasance or things that might be in conflict with the law. What suggestions does the hon. member have for enhancing whistle-blowing to allow public sector workers who see government malfeasance to step forward with adequate protections and supports to ensure that Canadians have access to information on what is happening in the back rooms of government?
129 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 122 - Nov/1/22
Mr. René Villemure
  • Nov/1/22 11:09:45 a.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank the member from Hamilton-Centre for his question. I work with him on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, and his perspective is always refreshing. First, Canada has the worst whistle-blower protection regime. Under the current regime, there is no way of knowing whether one person made 40 complaints or whether 40 people made one complaint. It is really anonymous and confidential. Second, the more specific the complaint, the easier it is to determine who the whistle-blower in question is. That is what we want to focus on right now. Under the current regime, the whistle-blower is done for in every case.
115 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 122 - Nov/1/22
Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)
  • Nov/1/22 11:55:17 a.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, the member is doing a fantastic job on government operations, looking for accountability and holding the government accountable. What reflections does the member have on the importance of having a whistle-blower regime? With that, when public sector employees find waste or any kind of malfeasance, they would have the ability to step forward and be protected so that they would not have reprisals in their workplace.
69 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 122 - Nov/1/22
Mr. Gord Johns
  • Nov/1/22 11:55:45 a.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, this needs a deep dive, and it needs support from all parties. We need to work collectively on this. Right now, there have been 18 complaints out of 500 that have come through and made it to the commissioner to look at. Not one has made it to the tribunal. This is not okay. It is actually impossible to imagine that not one whistle-blower complaint would have gone through to the tribunal and been supported—
79 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border