A Brief Guide to Good Whistleblowing and Bad Faith

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…

Independent investigations into ICORE-related activities at AER find conflict of interest, gross mismanagement of public funds, and critical oversight failures

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…

Sharing a Common Goal

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…

Defining Mismanagement of Employees

Mismanagement of Employees Inappropriate workplace behavior such as bullying, harassment and intimidation adversely affects the wellbeing of individuals, and can have detrimental effects on overall employee morale and productivity. The Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act (the Act) has been amended so that as of March 1, 2018, the definition of wrongdoing now includes the gross mismanagement of employees through bullying,…

Important Legislative Changes Take Effect March 1, 2018

EDMONTON – Today Marianne Ryan, Alberta’s second Public Interest Commissioner issued comments on the announcement that the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Amendment Act (the Act) will be proclaimed on March 1, 2018. These amendments provide important changes that expand the jurisdiction of the Public Interest Commissioner and protection for whistleblowers. Changes include expanding the…