Whistleblower law needs better promotion, ombudsman says

The Larry's Gulch scandal highlights the need for the provincial government to boost awareness of the whistleblower law, according to Ombudsman Charles Murray.

Two former deputy ministers were found to have broken the province's information law when they ordered staff to alter the 2013 guest list to the government-owned fishing lodge.

The information commissioner's report said civil servants in the Department of Tourism raised questions about the requests to remove information from the Larry's Gulch guest list.

I would prefer that we had a better funded system of publicizing the whistleblower system to the employees.- Charles Murray

New Brunswick has had the Public Interest Disclosure Act on the books since 2007, but the province's ombudsman says very few people are using it.

"Whistleblowing is hard, it is difficult for people to step forward particularly when they are unsure of what it will mean for their careers," Murray said on Thursday on Information Morning Fredericton.

"The culture in government doesn't encourage or welcome or advertise whistleblowers."

Information Morning - Fredericton15:35Whistleblower Protection

Ombudsman Charles Murray explains how the Public Interest Disclosure Act works.

Murray deferred specific questions about the Larry's Gulch scandal to the report of Anne Bertrand, the information commissioner. The ombudsman's office is responsible for overseeing the so-called whistleblower law.

He said the actual law is fine in New Brunswick, but he said the problem rests with the implementation of the act.

"This is a problem in all jurisdictions, governments' commitment to whistleblower legislation is in the abstract," he said.

"I would prefer that we had a better-funded system of publicizing the whistleblower system to the employees."

In 2013, the ombudsman's office said it had only received seven calls in a year regarding the act.

Murray said jurisdictions that advertise the whistleblower law and remind civil servants of their rights tend to have a stronger track record of use.

According to the law, a civil servant can raise a concern directly to a person designated by the department to handle complaints. In many cases, that designated person is the department's deputy minister.

In the case of the Larry's Gulch scandal, two deputy ministers were involved. Murray said in such a case, the law also gives civil servants the right to call his office and he can open an investigation immediately instead of going to their deputy minister.

"In the case of complaints by whistleblowers, it's like the fire alarm is going off," he said.

"We have to get there quickly and we have to determine what is taking place as fast as possible in the hopes that we prevent [possible wrongdoing] on the part of government."

Murray says in these situations his office attempts to quickly handle the complaints and it does its best to protect the anonymity of the complainant.