The whistleblower at the centre of the August 27, 2015 finding of wrongdoing at the department of Innovation and Advanced Education knew he was witnessing wrongdoing. The whistleblower reported that the manager was directing the manipulation of procurement documents at the department, as well as the arms-length agency Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures. The department’s…
EDMONTON – An investigation by Alberta’s Public Interest Commissioner has found two managers with the Government of Alberta’s department of Innovation and Advanced Education and one manager with Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures committed wrongdoing. Between October and December 2014, the Commissioner received several disclosures of wrongdoing from a whistleblower, who alleged staff in both…
The Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Public Interest Commissioner have opened a joint investigation into the alleged improper destruction of records by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) based on information received by the offices. Under section 53(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act), the…
Alberta government employees can contact the Office of the Public Interest Commissioner with concerns or allegations of wrongdoing related to improper disposal or shredding of documents during or following the current transition of government. “To knowingly breach rules related to the retention and destruction of records would be a contravention of the law, one of the definitions of wrongdoing…
The following is an edited conversation with a whistleblower who disclosed an allegation of wrongdoing first to their employer, then to our office. To protect the whistleblower’s identity, we’ve removed details of the complaint, employer, and our investigation. But this individual’s comments illustrate the feeling many in the public service may have when they consider…
By Peter Hourihan Public Interest Commissioner The Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act came into effect on June 1, 2013, making Alberta the seventh provincial jurisdiction in Canada to enact such legislation.[1] The enactment brought with it a number of challenges. Some will require a shift in perspective while others will take time to meet.…
What’s a wrongdoing? What’s a reprisal? And if I work for a public entity, who do I call if I want to blow the whistle? These are all questions received by the Public Interest Commissioner’s office last year, and explored in the office’s 2013-14 annual report. After the first 10 months of operations by the…
Alberta’s Public Interest Commissioner has found Alberta Health Services did not commit wrongdoing, as defined by the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act, in its 2012 computer purchase and deployment in the Edmonton Zone. The Act defines wrongdoing as: an illegal act; an act or omission that creates an imminent risk to the health and…
