SPECIAL REPORT - Public integrity in government departments and agencies - For disclosure mechanisms that are better known and that inspire confidence

QUÉBEC CITY, Dec. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Québec Ombudsman Marc-André Dowd today released his special report on public integrity: Notoriété et crédibilité des mécanismes de divulgation au sein des organismes publics québécois. His findings are based on a survey of government employees to assess awareness of disclosure mechanisms, their accessibility and the trust they inspire.

Context

In public bodies, potential whistleblowers are more inclined to denounce wrongdoing by authorities, colleagues or people under contract if they are familiar with existing disclosure mechanisms. They must also trust these mechanisms. In 2017, the Act to facilitate the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to public bodies (whistleblower legislation) came into force to make this process easier and establish a general system to protect against reprisal.

Today, six years later, are these mechanisms known and credible? Do they inspire trust? The Québec Ombudsman, whose mandate includes intervening in matters of public integrity, conducted a survey on this subject.

"The responses reveal that staff members are not all that familiar with the resources available to potential whistleblowers in public bodies. It also appears that many fear reprisal. It's essential to strengthen whistleblowing mechanisms, especially by ensuring they're actively promoted within organizations and are seen as a way of acting in strictest confidence," said Marc-André Dowd.

In disclosure mode

Under the law, "wrongdoing" within or in relation to public bodies can take various forms, such as a serious breach of ethical standards, misuse of public funds or abuse of authority.

Since 2017, most public bodies have had an internal procedure for handling disclosures: a disclosure officer has been appointed within each body to analyze cases of alleged wrongdoing and to act on them confidentially. Organizations exempted from having a disclosure officer were so mainly because of the small number of employees.

The law provides that employees may make a disclosure, at their discretion, to their disclosure officer or to the Québec Ombudsman. This means that the Québec Ombudsman handles disclosures from people who, for whatever reason, prefer to deal with us directly. It also receives disclosures from people who are not employed by a public body or who are employed by organizations covered by an exemption. Lastly, it provides support to disclosure officers.

Survey responses: disturbing data

To measure the awareness and credibility of disclosure mechanisms within Québec public bodies, the Québec Ombudsman conducted a survey of four specific groups: staff members of organizations subject to the law and equipped with a disclosure procedure (questionnaire 1), staff members of organizations exempted from having a disclosure procedure (questionnaire 2), disclosure officers (questionnaire 3), and internal ethics respondents (questionnaire 4). All these people answered the questionnaire on a voluntary basis.

Key figures:

• Organizations with a disclosure procedure: 56% of respondents had never heard of the whistleblower legislation.
• Exempt organizations: 35% are in the same situation.
• Disclosure officers: 11% say that their internal procedures offer no protection against reprisal.
• Ethics respondents: 49% are unfamiliar with measures to protect against reprisal.

As for the idea of making a disclosure, several survey participants are on their guard. They mentioned that whistleblowers are frequently frowned upon within their workplaces, and some went so far as to mention threats of defamation suits.

Solutions and recommendations

As the Québec Ombudsman sees it, it is imperative that authorities be made aware of their role in promoting disclosure mechanisms and protection measures to their teams. Mechanisms must be strengthened and more information must be provided (presentations to staff, internet).

"To make it easier for whistleblowers, I believe that disclosure officers could become internal public integrity respondents in order to inform staff, while the Québec Ombudsman, or any other competent body, would be responsible for handling disclosures," concluded Marc-André Dowd.

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