BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke today released four reports to support the Legislative Assembly’s mandatory five-year review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA). The reports give legislators real case examples, lessons learned, and proposed amendments to strengthen the Act, based on the Ombudsperson’s experience investigating disclosures of public wrongdoing.
“PIDA has worked well in many respects. Employees are using it, public bodies have worked hard to implement it, and important disclosures have been investigated, resulting in improvements to public services,” said Chalke. “At the same time, my office’s analysis of five years of experience highlights where the law is falling short. It’s time to think long term about how this law can best support public sector integrity. This review is an opportunity to build on what’s working and fix what’s not.”
While PIDA has created safe reporting and meaningful investigations, the Ombudsperson’s reports reveal limitations that undermine its effectiveness, including:
Public employees in nearly 200 public organizations have rights to disclose wrongdoing internally to their employer or externally to the Ombudsperson. Since...
The government has been accused of “hiding behind false claims” and failing disabled people who are being targeted by disability hate, while dodging a meeting with a leading disabled people’s orga...