FAIR's History and Achievements
A registered charity founded in 1998 by Joanna Gualtieri, FAIR is Canada's oldest whistleblower organization. FAIR is also the only non-government organization in Canada to focus primarily on the legislative aspects of whistleblower protection.
Under Ms. Gualtieri's leadership, FAIR was instrumental in keeping whistleblower protection in the public eye and on Ottawa's agenda for a decade by:
- delivering expert testimony and presentations to Parliament, universities, professional bodies and the public
- writing commentary for the media and taking part in various documentaries on whistleblowing
- drafting legislation (Bill C-201) that was submitted to Parliament as a private member's bill in 2003
- providing testimony to Parliamentary committees on subsequent government bills in 2004 (Bill C-25) and 2005 (Bill C-11)
- providing testimony to House and Senate committees on the Federal Accountability Act (Bill C-2), which created the final version of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA). This testimony led to a series of well-designed Senate amendments designed to strengthen the PSDPA. Unfortunately these were all rejected by the government
- providing plain english explanations of the new law, as well as a critique of its shortcomings, for the benefit of public servants considering making disclosures.
Without FAIR's contribution under Ms. Gualtieri there might still be no whistleblower protection legislation for Canadian public servants today. Regrettably the system created by the PSDPA is not working, and much work remains to be done to secure effective protection for public service whistleblowers.
Since David Hutton took over as Executive Director, FAIR has focused on strengthening the organization and developing a clear direction. This has included:
- developing a vision and an ambitious strategic plan
- expanding the Advisory Board and securing more resources for routine work (e.g. volunteers and student interns)
- strengthening links with FAIR's counterparts in other countries, such as GAP, POGO and NWC (in the USA) and PCAW (in the UK), and with related NGOs such as Transparency International
- creating a stronger website presence with a broad range of educational and self-help information, aimed both at whistleblowers and concerned citizens.
