Like all organizations in Alberta, the impact to our business from the ongoing situation with COVID-19 has been significant. For the health and well-being of our staff, and to continue to meet our statutory obligations, we have adapted our business practices to serve the public sector remotely. We are confident that the change in how…
A public health emergency was declared on March 17, 2020, as a result of pandemic COVID-19. Designated officers may receive complaints relating to the public health emergency which may fit into a category of “wrongdoing” under PIDA; however, the complaint reporting and investigation process under PIDA was not intended to be a mechanism for reporting…
Effective immediately, the Public Interest Commissioner has made the decision to close her Edmonton office and support prevention of the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The health and well-being of our staff and visitors to our office remains of primary importance to us. We are closely monitoring this rapidly evolving situation to ensure our operational practices…
Public interest investigations are typically large scale and involve substantial investigative work. They usually involve a significant amount of time and human resources both by the Commissioner’s office and the entity subject of the investigation. This can cause disruption to regular business, and can result in an unjustified negative public perception of an organization where…
Whistleblowing: The Right Stuff Whistleblowing has been defined as a disclosure by an employee (current or former) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate wrongdoing within an organization.[1] A whistleblower under Alberta’s Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act (the Act) makes a disclosure of wrongdoing in good faith in relation to one of the five wrongdoings defined…
Severance agreements are contracts sometimes used to reach an amicable conclusion to an individual’s employment with their employer. Usually a severance agreement provides extended compensation or benefits to the employee beyond the end of their employment, and in exchange, the employer receives a release whereby the employee agrees not to pursue any claims they have…
October 4, 2019 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada … Separate investigations by three independent officers of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta into activities at the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the International Centre of Regulatory Excellence (ICORE) found a conflict of interest by the former CEO of AER, gross mismanagement and waste of public resources, and critical…
The purpose of the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act (the Act) is to bring wrongdoing or cases of reprisal to the attention of a public sector organization so corrective measures can be taken. The Act allows for the reporting and investigation of wrongdoing to be conducted either internally by the designated officer, or by…