Disclosure of wrongdoing in the workplace

The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, which came into force on April 15, 2007 following the passing of the Federal Accountability Act in December 2006, requires all departments to make an internal disclosure process available to their staff for reporting allegations of wrongdoing. The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act also requires each chief executive to promptly provide public access to information on founded cases of wrongdoing investigated in accordance with the Act.

Article 11 (1) (c) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act states that each chief executive must: if a wrongdoing is found as a result of a disclosure made under section 12, promptly provide public access to information that:

• describes the wrongdoing, including information that could identify the person found to have committed it if it is necessary to identify the person to adequately describe the wrongdoing; and
• sets out the recommendations, if any, set out in any report made to the chief executive in relation to the wrongdoing and the corrective action, if any, taken by the chief executive in relation to the wrongdoing or the reasons why no corrective action was taken.

Under article 8 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, wrongdoing is defined as an act or omission concerning:

1. a contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, or of any regulations made under any such Act, other than a contravention of section 19 of this Act;
2. a misuse of public funds or a public asset;
3. a gross mismanagement in the public sector;
4. an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of a public servant;
5. a serious breach of a code of conduct established under section 5 or 6; and
6. knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing set out in any of paragraphs (a) to (e).

This web site will be updated every three months to provide public access to information on founded cases of wrongdoing, investigated in accordance with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.

The rules and principles governing the reporting of founded disclosures of wrongdoing in the workplace are outlined in the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.

Please note that information that would normally be withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act does not appear on this web site.

Date modified:

2019-02-28