"To combat collusion and corruption, we need whistleblower protection now!"

QUÉBEC CITY, Aug. 22, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - "If we are serious about putting an end to collusion and corruption, we absolutely must adopt legislation protecting whistleblowers." That was the message delivered by the President of Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ), Richard Perron, in a speech given at the 2014 Peoples' Social Forum being held in Ottawa until August 24.

"In the wake of the Charbonneau Commission, Québec has already introduced a number of measures to address the problem, but it has yet to adopt solid, comprehensive legislation protecting whistleblowers, and we know that the risk of corruption goes up significantly when public disclosure is not encouraged or protected," stated Perron.

Based on his review of the laws and best practices of Western governments and his assessment of the cost of corruption in the world, Perron proposes establishing a law and various mechanisms to ensure the integrity of the Québec government and curb collusion and corruption in the public and broader public sectors. Turning to the on-the-ground experience of its 25,500 professional members, SPGQ is carrying out a campaign to get Québec to adopt specific legislation that would set a new standard in the world and position it as a model of integrity.

"Solid legislation protecting whistleblowers will allow the Québec government to finally assume its full role as a champion of integrity," added Perron. "The key to effective protection lies in the faith potential whistleblowers will finally have in the system in place."

The issue of whistleblower protection has long been a priority issue for SPGQ. On July 10, it submitted a position paper to the Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry (CEIC). The main topic of the paper is the importance of adopting legislation and mechanisms protecting whistleblowers in Québec.

SPGQ had previously addressed this topic in winter 2014 in a discussion paper entitled La protection des divulgateurs : une nécessité pour un État québécois intègre (Whistleblower Protection: a Necessity for the Integrity of Québec). This document was very well received in Québec and abroad at a number of forums, including the Global Dialogue Forum on Challenges to Collective Bargaining in the Public Service, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva in April 2014, and the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers (CALL) in June 2014 in Ottawa.

Perron's presentation to the Peoples' Social Forum is available online on the SPGQ website. The discussion paper entitled For reference: Whistleblower Protection: a Necessity for the Integrity of Québec and the position paper

About SPGQ
SPGQ is Québec's largest union of professionals. It represents a total of 25,500 specialists, including some 18,000 public servants, 4,500 Agence du revenu du Québec professionals, and 3,000 professional working in health, education, and for government corporations.

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SOURCE: Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ)

Interview requests, Mychel St-Louis, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected] ; Source, Philippe Desjardins, Information Advisor, Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ), Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]