The 2019 Public Interest Disclosure Act created a whistleblowing regime for government workers.
B.C. Attorney General David Eby announced Friday the expansion of whistleblower protections among the public sector.
To date, the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) only applied to staff in government ministries and independent offices of the legislature. Now, a phased approach to expanding PIDA begins, first with B.C.’s tribunals and a number of agencies, boards and commissions now required to follow legislation.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve had a chance to see these whistleblower protections for public servants in action and have fine-tuned the act to prepare for the rollout to the broader public sector,” said Eby in a statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic is being cited as a reason for the phased approach as Eby’s office acknowledged the process to implement the act is “complex.”
Crown corporations will begin following the act in December 2022, school districts in December 2023 and finally all post-secondary and health-related entities by June 2024.
Notable entities soon joining include the B.C. Securities Commission, B.C. Lottery Corp. (BCLC), BC Hydro, BC Housing and BC Ferry Authority in December 2022 and all health authorities by June 2023.
The B.C. NDP provincial government formed PIDA in December 2019 in response to a B.C. ombudsperson recommendation stemming from employee terminations at the Ministry of Health in 2012.
The Attorney General’s office now claims “PIDA...
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