(Quebec) Quebec wants to give new powers to the public protector by giving him sole responsibility for disclosing wrongdoing to the government.
“The protector obtains the power to make confidentiality orders. He will be able to order people he meets not to talk about his investigation. When you investigate and people start to find out, it can be colored, it can cause evidence to disappear,” says Sonia LeBel, in an interview with The Press to explain his draft law on whistleblowers, which updates an already existing law.
“We are not in a criminal investigation, but it is something that is similar to it in the way he is handling the case,” added the President of the Treasury Board.
As she had committed to doing in the fall, Mme LeBel comes to dust off the current law on whistleblowers adopted in 2017, but criticized since then, in particular by the Public Protector, who affirmed in December that the fear of reprisals and the “culture of omerta” still persist in the public function.
Mme LeBel wants to restore confidence in public sector employees and wants to create a “culture of disclosure”. “We can’t have eyes and ears everywhere, it’s important to know what’s going on in organizations. But it’s important that these people feel protected for doing it, and that we can prevent these people from experiencing reprisals if they do it,” she explained.
One stop shop
First action: it entrusts the Protector with the role of being a “one-stop shop” for disclosures. It is he who will have to carry out the investigation, whereas currently, it is the organizations targeted by the complaints which are themselves responsible for the investigation.
“Saying ‘I stool my boss to his assistant’ isn’t easy,” she said. She took as an example the agronomist Louis Robert, who had lost his job, and who was then reinstated in his position after making a disclosure.
“Louis Robert, in fact, he tried to disclose within MAPAQ, and what he said was that we did not follow up to his satisfaction, and in addition, his identity was not adequately protected,” she explained.
The Public Protector has the experience to carry out investigations, and to protect the identity of people who file complaints, according to her.
Another important modification: a person who makes a denunciation and who suffers harassment or dismissal as a result of this denunciation will be able to obtain monetary compensation. “What was perverse in the old law was that the only way to compensate for reprisals was reintegration. The only mechanism is I reinstate you. But perhaps it is not in all environments that it is wise to bring the person back. It can be toxic,” she said.
Finally, Quebec wants to raise awareness of the provisions that protect whistleblowers in the public service.