More than 150 allegations of wrongdoing in the workplace have been made since whistleblower legislation was introduced in Manitoba a decade ago.
The provincial ombudsman conducted a ten year review of the Whistleblower Act and found 155 complaints have been made since the law came into effect in 2007.
The majority of disclosures came from public service employees; Child and Family Services, hospitals, personal care homes, universities and colleges and agencies that received public funding.
Allegations ranged from mismanagement of public funds within a personal care home, to improper use of employee credit cards.
There were also complaints bout abuse of patients by medical staff at a health-care facility, quality of care in personal care homes, and concerns raised over a risk to children in care due to a failure to follow service standards.
The whistleblower legislation was brought in to limit professional risk to any Manitoban looking to raise concerns about wrongdoing in the public service.
Of the 155 allegations made over the last decade, 24 investigations were opened.
The ombudsman report noted that while not all allegations result in an investigation, each disclosure is still reviewed.
Even if wrongdoing isn’t found, recommendations can still be made.
In 2017 there were 32 complaints raised, and only three cases investigated. But that same year 33 different recommendations were made to various departments. Those recommendations included a review of staffing levels, retraining of staff, and the development of new policies and/or procedures.
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