Despite recently introduced laws protecting whistleblowers, many public employees in B.C. still fear retribution and reprisal for speaking up about wrongdoing in the workplace.
Ombudsperson Jay Chalke is calling for a culture change.
"It is a problem that is very much related to the culture in organizations," Chalke told Black Press Media.
Chalke delivered a series of four reports to the legislature on Tuesday, Aug. 19, as part of the commitment for a five-year review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The law was enacted in 2019 to protect employees of selected government agencies from reprisal for reporting wrongdoing to a designated officer within their organization, or to the B.C. ombudsperson.
After five years of the act being in place, a survey of workers conducted by Chalke's office found that 55 per cent still feared retaliation for speaking out and 47 per cent believed that nothing would change if they did.
The reports conclude that whistleblowers still need more protection from real or perceived reprisals for workers to feel comfortable speaking up. Chalke said he wants more protection from retaliation, even when an investigation does not result from a disclosure, and a removal of assessments as to whether a disclosure was made in "good faith" or not.
He also recommended expanding the legislation to cover a wider range of public agencies, from local police to the legislature itself. The government has expanded the act since its introduction to include 200...
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