Our Mission:

Protecting Whistleblowers Who Protect The Public Interest

FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform) promotes integrity and accountability within government by empowering employees to speak out without fear of reprisal when they encounter wrongdoing. Our aim is to support legislation and management practices that will provide effective protection for whistleblowers and hence occupational free speech in the workplace.

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Top Stories

Niagara Whistleblower Joins FAIR Advisory Board

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Media Release

OTTAWA, March 10, 2010 – The Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR), Canada's whistleblower charity, is pleased to announce the appointment of Niagara Parks Commission whistleblower Bob Gale to its Advisory Board.

"I'm proud to be a part of what FAIR is trying to accomplish." said Gale. "Employees are often the first to know about wrongdoing that threatens the public interest, but in Canada, as I found out, there is little to protect them if they speak out. We need to correct this absurd situation and I'm confident that we will."

Canada wanted Afghan prisoners tortured: lawyer

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Friday, March 5, 2010

Unredacted documents show officials hoped to gather intelligence, expert says

Federal government documents on Afghan detainees suggest that Canadian officials intended some prisoners to be tortured in order to gather intelligence, according to a legal expert.

Military told to heed abuse claims

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JAG memo to top brass in 2007 said all reports of detainee torture must be investigated

Richard J. Brennan, Ottawa Bureau – Feb 25, 2010

OTTAWA–Canadian military brass were told it was a crime to ignore allegations of prisoner abuse and that it was their duty to investigate it, according to a top secret document revealed to the Toronto Star.

Buried in documents withheld from a special parliamentary committee by the Conservative government, the May 22, 2007 five-page memo from the Judge Advocate General (JAG), Brig.-Gen. Ken Watkin, followed on the heels of a series of media reports and diplomatic dispatches alleging serious prisoner abuse.

Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in ATI requests: Tory staffer

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Says PMO urged staffers to pare down Access to Information documents before release.

By Jeff Davis, The Hill Times – Feb 22, 2010

Cabinet ministers’ offices had been under orders to pressure bureaucrats to pare down the amount of information released under the Access to Information Act up until The Canadian Press recently broke the story on how one political staffer killed the release of a document, forcing the Prime Minister’s Office to get involved and to do some damage control, says one Conservative staffer.

Whistleblower legends broadcast available online

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If you missed the excellent GAP broadcast featuring whistleblower legends Daniel Ellsberg and Frank Serpico, you now have a second chance – the video is available online. Highly recommended!

Watch broadcast now

David Hutton
Executive Director, FAIR

Toronto doctor recognized for her courage

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Theresa Boyle Health Reporter – Wed Feb. 17, 2010

A Toronto doctor who defied a drug company by warning patients of potential dangers of a drug she was studying is being recognized for her courage.

Dr. Nancy Olivieri is the 2009 recipient of the “scientific freedom and responsibility award” from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the same organization that publishes Science magazine.

Whistleblower law might help landfill fighters

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Cantley couple sued over ‘lies’in battle over toxic gases

By Dave Rogers, The Ottawa Citizen – February 16, 2010

OTTAWA — A Cantley couple that convinced the Quebec government to close a landfill that is emitting toxic gases in their community expect to become the first people in Canada to use a new law designed to protect whistleblowers.

When Serge Galipeau and his wife, Christine Landry, go to Quebec Superior Court in Gatineau on March 10, they will ask a judge to dismiss a $1.25-million defamation lawsuit filed by landfill owners Denzil Thom and Gilles Proulx in September 2006, on the grounds it violates a new law that protects freedom of speech during debate about public issues.

Tories blocked full release of sensitive Public Works report

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Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press – Sunday, Feb. 07, 2010

Ottawa — A federal cabinet minister's aide killed the release of a sensitive report requested under freedom-of-information in a case eerily similar to a notorious incident in the sponsorship scandal.

A bureaucrat had to make a mad dash to the department's mailroom last July to retrieve the report at the last minute under orders from a senior aide to then-Public Works minister Christian Paradis.

Is Richard Colvin A Whistleblower?

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David Hutton – February 4, 2009

Last Friday two well-known bloggers, Kady O'Malley and David Eaves, discussed whistleblowing with CBC TV's Power and Politics host Evan Solomon  (view the program here). When they turned to the subject of Richard Colvin, the consensus was that he is not a whistleblower – because he played by the rules, reported only internally, and never sought publicity or approached the media. We at FAIR respectfully disagree.

The following is my response on behalf of FAIR, but this also represents the view of the international community of public interest organizations who advocate for whistleblowers – we all share a similar view on this issue.

Pattern of delay: Ottawa's Kafkaesque information denial

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The Globe asked why federal agencies were taking so long to release information. The answer took two-and-a-half years to come

Gloria Galloway – Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010

Ottawa — The Access to Information Act requires Ottawa to respond to requests in 30 days - unless that query is about how the federal government follows its own rules, in which case the response can take two-and-a-half years.

Thirty-two months ago, as a slowdown became apparent in the processing of access to information documents, The Globe and Mail filed requests with about a dozen federal agencies seeking an explanation.

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