Sask. public interest & disclosure commissioner troubled by lack of complaints

Saskatchewan’s public interest and disclosure commissioner, Mary McFadyen, is troubled by the “very low” amount of complaints that have been brought to her office.

Since the office opened in early 2012, just 77 people contacted her to inquire about whistleblowing.

In her annual report, McFadyen wrote that only 24 of these calls were about wrongdoings or complaints of reprisal. She added that some calls were anonymous, meaning they would not meet the standards for protection.

Across government, there are designated officers public sector employees can bring their complaints to, in addition to the ombudsman. However, a minuscule amount of employees have brought complaints to these officers.

“Just six public sector employees across all government institutions have come forward with disclosures under the act since it was proclaimed in force on Sept. 11, 2011. This is troubling,” McFadyen wrote.

“There are thousands of employees across a broad system, and it is to be expected that some will have concerns about situations that don’t seem right to them.”

Typically, these officers are a senior staff member according to McFadyen.

“Lets say that the head of the legal department or it’s the head of the human resources department. In that role quite frankly is to protect the organization. So it’s hard for them to have two hats,” McFadyen said.

“The other thing is that people that come forward with wrongdoings have their concerns heard and are protected. There could be a slant of trying to protect the organization.”

McFadyen added it would be nice if this low number is because everything is going well in government institutions, but feels the reason for so few disclosures is because people are unaware of the system, fearful of punishment, or both.

Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan said that the government is working to be transparent, and likes to believe a lack of reporting issues means there are few issues.

“We’re not seeing people either go to the media or go to the opposition, so we’re hoping there aren’t people out there that are afraid to come forward. We’ve tried to be open and accessible as much as we can and I appreciate the speculation that she’s making, and I’m hopeful that there are people out there that aren’t happy,” Morgan said.

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said that public servants have come to him to talk about their concerns and that they are afraid of repercussions.

“The general sentiment in the public, especially anyone whose organization is dependent on funding, or who works for the government is that if they speak up they will be punished. That’s really a distressing thing to know,” Meili said.

McFadyen added that it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure employees are aware of protections afforded to them under The Public Interest Disclosure Act.