Watchdogs

Dion says confidence in whistleblower office up; opposition tables amendments to fix ‘weaknesses’ in act

Topics: 
PSIC, Integrity Commissioner, Mario Dion, Watchdogs
Rating: 
0

Jessica Bruno – May 6, 2013

Whistleblowers’ confidence in the Integrity Commissioner’s Office is rising, says Integrity Commissioner Mario Dion, leading to dozens of new people coming forward, but watchdogs and opposition parties say serious changes to the office and its legislation are needed to protect vulnerable public servants.

“Disclosures made to my office have doubled in the past three fiscal years, and I believe this is attributable to our increased profile as well as a growing sense of confidence within the public service and the public sector at large, as to our professionalism, discretion, and efficiency,” Mr. Dion told the Government Operations Committee May 2.

Information commissioner right to investigate ‘muzzling’ of scientists

Topics: 
Access to information, Watchdogs, Science, Government transparency
Rating: 
4

Editorial – April 1, 2013

It’s good news that the federal Office of the Information Commissioner is launching an investigation into the alleged muzzling of Canadian scientists by officials in their departments. The clamour over the issue has only been getting louder, and continued inaction could have damaged Canada’s reputation in scientific circles.

The Information Commissioner has agreed to a request sent in February asking her to investigate what was termed as “the federal government’s policies and actions to obstruct the right of the public and the media to speak to government scientists.”

Hearing to expose IRS informant program to scrutiny

Topics: 
USA, Watchdogs, Whistleblowers, White-collar crime
Rating: 
2

Nanette Byrnes – April 9, 2013

Seven years after Congress passed a new whistleblower law for the Internal Revenue Service, the tax-collecting agency stands accused of not doing enough, or of not acting swiftly enough, to reward informants who expose tax improprieties.

On Wednesday, under growing pressure from the senator who spearheaded the 2006 legislation, the IRS holds a hearing on proposals it has crafted only now for implementing elements of the law.

Whistleblower watchdog leashes itself

Topics: 
PSIC, Mario Dion, Watchdogs
Rating: 
0

David Hutton – April 9, 2013

Mario Dion is the public sector integrity commissioner, responsible for the agency charged with protecting federal government whistleblowers. For the past six years the agency’s “desired strategic outcome” has been defined as follows:

“Wrongdoing in the federal public sector is detected, resolved and reported, while public servants are protected from reprisal, resulting in a greater integrity in the workplace.”

Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner calls for changes to whistleblowing law

Topics: 
Legislation, Watchdogs, Ontario
Rating: 
5

Integrity Commissioner recommends changes to Ontario’s Disclosure of Wrongdoing legislation Integrity Commissioner Lynn Morrison has today released her recommendations for amendments to the disclosure of wrongdoing section of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006.

Under the Act, this section is to be reviewed after five years. “We have learned a great deal from our experiences in receiving disclosures from members of the Ontario Public Service, and have reflected this in our suggestions for change,” Commissioner Morrison said.

Ex-whistle-blower protector pleads guilty

Topics: 
USA, Office of Special Counsel, Watchdogs
Rating: 
2

Frederic J. Frommer –  February 12, 2013

A former government official responsible for protecting whistle-blowers has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injury to government property.

Scott Bloch had his government computer and those of two of his staffers wiped clean of information in 2006. He had been under investigation at the time for retaliating against employees at the federal agency he headed, which was responsible for protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subjected to reprisals. He faces up to six months in jail.

Tribunal Judgment Questions Effectiveness of UN Ethics Office

Topics: 
United Nations, Whistleblowers, Watchdogs
Rating: 
2

On March 15, the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) issued a judgment on relief in whistleblower James Wasserstrom’s case. The Tribunal – the court of first instance of the two-tier internal justice system through which UN employees contest violations of their rights – issued a scathing critique of the UN Ethics Office, which is charged with reviewing retaliation complaints from whistleblowers.

Wasserstrom disclosed a possible kickback scheme involving local politicians and senior UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) officials related to a controversial proposed power plant.

Kevin Page blames ‘weak’ public service for not serving Parliament, Canadians

Topics: 
Watchdogs, Government transparency
Rating: 
0
Kevin Page

Kathryn May – March 15, 2013

Days before he leaves the job, Canada’s first Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page is striking out at a secretive public service for starving Parliament of the information it needs to hold the government to account.

Page is pulling no punches in the final days of his mandate, veering into punditry that infuriates the government and his detractors. He wants public servants to serve Parliament and not just the government; he wants Parliament to regain “power of the purse” and he wants Canadians to fight to save his office, which he fears is doomed.

Kevin Page's thoughts as he leaves the Parliamentary Budget Office

Topics: 
Government transparency, Watchdogs
Rating: 
3
Kevin Page

Kevin Newman: Give me some adjectives to describe what the job’s been like for you?

Kevin Page: Scary, at times -- releasing a report on Afghanistan. Exhilarating, at times -- getting calls from people in your industry the day after the Auditor General report comes out saying, ‘Guess what?’ when you were being criticized a year prior on your costing of the F-35 fighter plane, the government was actually providing the same numbers, actually larger to cabinet but weren’t showing them to Canadians and Parliament, even though they were requested.

US Activists Laud Special Counsel’s Entry into Whistleblower Case

Topics: 
USA, Office of Special Counsel, Watchdogs, National security
Rating: 
4
Carolyn Lerner

Charles S. Clark – March 15, 2013

In a first since passage last November of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, the Office of Special Counsel on Thursday filed an amicus brief challenging a ruling it says would deny federal employees who feel they are unfairly removed from so-called “sensitive” national security positions appropriate recourse. The move was applauded by nonprofit whistleblower advocates’ groups.

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner, siding with the Merit Systems Protection Board, filed a brief in the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit, arguing that a Defense Department decision to declare two civilian employees ineligible for positions deemed sensitive, if upheld in court, “would undermine Congress’ repeated efforts to strengthen whistleblower and other good government protections for federal workers.”

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