The Whistleblowers

Three Canada Post employees expose an illegal work practice. One of them is fired and two others are suspended for ten days. Health Canada researchers reveal that they have been pressured to approve medications. They are summarily fired.

Suspensions, firings, intimidation. These whistleblowers have cause to regret having spoken out. A team from d’Enjeux met with them.

Postal mail carriers exposed illegal mail delivery

Yves Richer, Jade Sambrook and Christian Dumont

Three Canada Post employees talk about the ordeal they endured after exposing an illegal work practice. They revealed the existence of the infamous black routes: while still receiving their pay, some postal workers paid others to carry out their afternoon deliveries for them.

Yves Richer, a mail carrier at the Delorimier branch, in Montréal, denounced this practice. He told his boss about it in 1999. This first denunciation had no effect. Yves Richer talks about the threats and pressures he was subjected to by some colleagues as a result of his complaint. He says it became unbearable. He fell ill and returned to work a few months later in another branch.

A few years later, Jade Sambrook and Christian Dumont, workers at Delorimier, alerted their superiors about the black routes. Nothing happened. Jade Sambrook then called for an internal investigation, which led to the wrongful arrest of two postal workers. But nothing was done to protect whistleblowers. Besides suffering bullying by colleagues, both men were subjected to disciplinary action. In September 2003, they exposed the black routes to the media. Shortly after, Christian Dumont and Yves Richer were suspended for 10 days, and Jade Sambrook was fired. Harassed by their colleagues, rejected by their employers, they will never escape the label of whistleblower.

In the fall of 2003, three men took their case to the Arbitration Tribunal in Quebec. They contested their suspension and dismissal. A long and complex case ensued. The judge's verdict, released in July 2005, fully supported the postal workers. The penalties for speaking out were cancelled. Canada Post was castigated for having seriously breached its duty to protect its employees.

The researchers who said too much

Gérald Lambert, Margaret Haydon and Shiv Chopra

Veterinarians Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerald Lambert spent most of their lives at Health Canada. Their job was to evaluate the safety of drugs for animals intended for human consumption. They had long expressed reservations about certain antibiotics and growth hormones.

The researchers eventually revealed that they were being pressured by their bosses to approve these products. They disclosed this to members of two parliamentary committees and the media. In their testimony they explained that they had exposed this situation to protect public safety. In July 2004, all three were summarily dismissed. They appealed to the Public Service Labour Relations Board, claiming that their dismissal was unjustified.

High morals are costly

Jean-Paul Brodeur

Criminologist Jean-Paul Brodeur wrote a book on whistleblowing to the public. He explained that the whistleblower is generally motivated by high moral character and protection of the public interest. But this morality comes at a price. According to him, the truthteller is dogged by ostracism and stigma, and this causes others to reject him almost instinctively, even if the whistleblower was acting on honorable motives, says Jean-Paul Brodeur.

Jean-Maurice Cantin, former vice-chairman of the Public Service Labour Relations Board, sees things differently. He wrote a book on the laws around the world that protect whistleblowers. Canada passed such legislation last December, but it applies only to federal employees, including employees of Crown corporations. Jean-Maurice Cantin is disappointed that Canada has decided not to offer rewards to informers, as is done in some countries.

Did the people we interviewed regret having spoken out? Shiv Chopra and Margaret Haydon are adamant that as employees of public service, they did what they had to do. As for the postal workers, that is another story. Jade Sambrook had a bitter experience. The lesson he draws from it: it is better to be silent.

Original article on Radio-Canada website