About Us
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.
Founded in 1998 by Joanna Gualtieri FAIR is a registered Canadian charity, run by volunteers. The Executive Director David Hutton is supported by an eminent Advisory Board which includes David Kilgour, David Swann, Gerard Seijts and Robert Stenhouse.
Advisory Board
The Honourable David Kilgour, MP
House of Commons
David Kilgour was one of the two longest-serving MPs in the House of Commons for the 38th Parliament. First elected in 1979 in the riding of Edmonton Strathcona, he has been re-elected seven times, most recently in 2004 to represent the constituents of Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont. Since Confederation, only two Alberta MPs have served longer terms. In the 38th Parliament, David was Chair of the Canada-ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast; co-chair of the All-Party and Multi-Faith Committee on Religious-Cultural Harmony and the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet; and Canadian Chair of Parliamentarians for Global Action.
During his over 26 years of service in the House of Commons, David held a wide variety of portfolios, including Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader, the Minister of External Relations, the Minister of Indian Affairs and the Minister of Transport.
After joining the Liberals, he has served as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House. He then became Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa and later Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific. He has traveled to over 75 countries and represented Canada abroad on numerous occasions, most recently as a member of the Canadian delegation to Rwanda in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the genocide. In April 2005, he chose to become an independent Member of Parliament.
David also believes in a stronger voice for Canada in the world. He advocates strengthening our human rights commitments and engaging in multilateral peacekeeping and peace-building efforts. He has been instrumental in bringing the situation in countries like Burma, Vietnam and Zimbabwe to the forefront of Canadian foreign policy and he works with NGO’s from around the world to promote the advancement of human rights.
David Swann MD, MLA
David Swann was elected to his first term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Calgary Mountain-View on November 22, 2004. Four years later, on December 13, 2008 he was elected leader of the Alberta Liberal Party.
Dr. Swann graduated from the University of Alberta with his B.MSc. in 1971, his M.D. in 1973, and from the University of Calgary with his FRCP(C) in 1988. He practised as a family physician from 1975 to 1984 and then as a public health consultant from 1988 to 2004.
Dr. Swann is active within his community and was responsible for initiating the Healthy City Project in Calgary in 1987. He was also a part of developing the first pesticide-free park in Calgary in 1998 and has been involved in a number of anti-sanctions, anti-war movements from 1995 to 2004, which included three trips to Iraq. David traveled to Iraq in 2000 with an American delegation under Ramsey Clark (former Attorney General under Lyndon Johnson) and witnessed the deprivation of people and destruction of environment there due to war and sanctions.
He is co–founder (with Dr. Arthur Clark) of the Canadian Network to End Sanctions on Iraq (Calgary) in 2001 and has been active in this, including a trip to Iraq in November/02 to assess the emergency (disaster) capacity in relation to possible war. His report (along with Dr. Amir Khadir of Montreal) — Dying for Peace — outlines the catastrophe of such a war. He has become an outspoken critic of US foreign policy on Iraq and spoken across the country on various media.
He was involved in the publication of Finding My Voice for Peace (from Canada and the New American Empire, ed. George Melnyk). Dr. Swann was also honoured with the Gold Star Teaching Award in both 1999 and 2003 from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
Professor Gerard Seijts
Gerard Seijts received his PhD from the U of Toronto in 1998. Prior to joining the Richard Ivey School of Business in 2000, Gerard was on the faculty at the I.H. Asper School of Business, U of Manitoba. Gerard has taught undergraduate and MBA courses in organizational behavior, leading change, human resource management, performance management, managerial negotiations, staffing, and behavioral decision-making. He has also delivered workshops to mid and senior-level managers on topics such as leading change, designing effective organizations, strategic interviewing, managerial negotiations, and behavioral decision-making.
His research activities, spanning journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, cover a wide range of topics including leadership, change, goal setting, training and development, organizational justice, performance appraisal, and team processes. His research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Performance, Journal of Business Ethics, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Journal of Drug Issues, Canadian Psychology, the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, Applied Psychology: An International Review, and the International Journal for Academic Development. Several of his research papers have received awards.
In 1999, Gerard received the Associates Award for excellence in both teaching and research. In 2005, he received Innovation in Teaching Award. He has been nominated for teaching excellence on several other occasions.
He is a member of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science. He is an ad-hoc reviewer for numerous other journals in the field of organizational behavior and human resource management. Gerard is past division chair of the Human Resources Division of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.
Robert Stenhouse
Bob Stenhouse was a highly decorated and dedicated RCMP officer rising rapidly through the ranks. His experiences ranged from international drug investigations, to homicide undercover operations, organized crime and anti-terrorism positions.
In 1998 disillusion and frustration was mounting over the historical ineffectiveness and absence of RCMP investigations into Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, while the strategy to fight the gangs was little more than a public relations exercise.
After exhausting internal process Bob brought this issue to the attention of an author with the intent of initiating public debate. The ensuing publication of a “media strategy” resulted in RCMP senior management pursuing his dismissal. The internal disciplinary process was fraught with abuse and illegal withholding of disclosure documents.
This evidence was brought before the Federal Court of Canada and in March of 2004, Bob’s dismissal from the RCMP became the first ever to be overturned. He was ordered re-instated and went on to complete a Master’s degree in Theology and chose to retire in 2007 as a Staff Sergeant. His story has been told in three documentaries on the CBC program “the fifth estate” and was a cover story in Maclean’s magazine in 2001.
Bob is a licenced pastor and is currently working in senior management in the health industry in Edmonton. He is married to Bev and they have three children.
Bob Gale
Bob Gale is the owner and president of Gale’s Fuels, the Niagara region’s only locally-owned oil company and an employer of 130 people.
Bob is well known and highly respected for his contributions to the local community. He has involved himself in various local charities and provided generous financial support to worthy causes with a particular focus on helping children and the disadvantaged. An arena that he helped fund is named for him – the Gale Centre – and he played a leading role in the creation of an ER unit at the Greater Niagara General Hospital.
Bob has also made his mark as a successful whistleblower. In 2008, while serving on the board of the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) he objected to a sweetheart deal that NPC signed with the current operator of the Maid of the Mist boat tours. Worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the operator, this 25-year extension of the lease shut out other potential bidders offering more favourable terms. When his complaints through official whistleblower channels failed he alerted the media and more damaging revelations emerged. Finally the commission was ordered to conduct an open competitive tender process for the lease – a rare victory for the whistleblower and for the public interest.
Staff
David Hutton, Executive Director
Executive Director
David W. Hutton is an author and former management consultant, recognized as an expert in management systems and organizational change. During his career he served as a senior executive in industry, led a successful consulting practice for 18 years, worked with clients around the world, and published two authoritative books on quality management that have been published and distributed on four continents.
In 2006 he became concerned about growing corruption in Canada and decided to volunteer some of his time to help combat this. He joined FAIR, soon assumed a leadership role, and retired from his consulting practice in order to focus on this. In May 2008 he was formally appointed Executive Director.
More about David's previous career...
Stephanie Della Porta
Stephanie Della Porta is currently attending her third year at Carleton University where she is completing a bachelor of arts honours in criminology and criminal justice with her concentration in law and minor in psychology.
Her main interests in law are corporate law, criminal law, and family law. Stephanie hopes to attend law school in the near future with the goal of becoming a licensed lawyer. In addition, she wants to explore the field of forensic psychology further, another area she is passionately interested in pursuing a career.
Stephanie is excited to be working with FAIR and looks forward to using the law to bring about change and make a difference in our society.
Jade Kemp
Jade Kemp is currently in her third year Carleton University as a Bachelor of Arts honours student. She is enjoying her studies in criminology and criminal justice with her concentration in psychology.
Her interests include abnormal psychology, forensic psychology and corporate crime. Jade intends to complete graduate school while working with banking and financial institutions on fraud detection and prevention.
Jade is thrilled to be working with FAIR and eager to learn about best practices for dealing with mismanagement and corruption within the government and the private sector.
