Section 31 of the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act (the Act) permits the Commissioner to grant exemptions to an individual or public entity in circumstances where it would be inappropriate to apply a section of the Act or the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Regulation.  The Commissioner may impose terms and conditions considered appropriate on any exemption provided.

The Act requires the Public Interest Commissioner to publish a list of exemptions, and the reasons an exemption was granted.  No public entities have received a full exemption from the provisions of the Act.

 

The following partial exemptions have been granted:

FISCAL YEAR 2014-15

Morinville Christian School was granted an exemption from the requirement to create comprehensive procedures per Section 5, to identify a Designated Officer per Section 7, or to have employees disclose allegations of wrongdoing internally per Sections 9 and 11 of the Act.  The exemption was granted due to the small size of the school as it would be impractical for the school to implement those aspects of the Act.  The Commissioner imposed conditions on the school that reports of wrongdoing or inquiries from employees be referred directly to the Public Interest Commissioner and exempted employees from restrictions for direct reporting under Section 10.  All other aspects of the Act still apply.

FISCAL YEAR 2015-16

Calgary German Language School Society was granted an exemption from the requirement to create comprehensive procedures per Section 5, to identify a Designated Officer per Section 7, or to have employees disclose allegations of wrongdoing internally per Sections 9 and 11 of the Act.  The exemption was granted due to the small size of the school as it would be impractical for the school to implement those aspects of the Act.  The Commissioner imposed conditions on the school that reports of wrongdoing or inquiries from employees be referred directly to the Public Interest Commissioner and exempted employees from restrictions for direct reporting under Section 10.  All other aspects of the Act still apply.

FISCAL YEAR 2016-17

Alberta Chung Wah School Society was granted an exemption from the requirement to create comprehensive procedures per Section 5, to identify a Designated Officer per Section 7, or to have employees disclose allegations of wrongdoing internally per Section 9 and 11 of the Act.  The exemption was granted due to the small size of the school as it would be impractical for the school to implement those aspects of the Act.  The Commissioner imposed conditions on the school that reports of wrongdoing or inquiries from employees be referred directly to the Public Interest Commissioner and exempted employees from restrictions for direct reporting under Section 10.  All other aspects of the Act still apply.

FISCAL YEAR 2017-18

Elves Special Needs Society was granted an exemption from the requirement under Section 1(c) within Schedule 2 of the Regulation prescribing the principal of a school as a Chief Officer.  Elves Special Needs Society operates several programs, all of which are not under the management oversight of the principal.  Further, the principal functions in a role subordinate to the Executive Director.  Due to the management structure of the organization, the principal would not be effective at carrying out the duties and functions of the Chief Officer.  The Acting Commissioner imposed a condition that the Executive Director carry out the duties and functions of Chief Officer as set out in the Act.

Olds Mountainview Christian School was granted a partial exemption from certain requirements within the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act, on the basis that the size of the school made it impractical to for them to establish and maintain an effective whistleblower protection program.  The school was exempted from the requirement to have procedures in place for internally receiving and investigating disclosures of wrongdoing, and from identifying a designated officer to receive such disclosures.  A condition of the exemption, however, was that all allegations of wrongdoing must be made directly to the Public Interest Commissioner.  Further, the school must provide its employees with the contact information for the Commissioner, and information regarding the protections extended to them under the Act.

FISCAL YEAR 2018-19

There were no partial or full exemptions requested or granted during this period.

FISCAL YEAR 2019-20

There were no partial or full exemptions requested or granted during this period.

FISCAL YEAR 2020-21

There were no partial or full exemptions requested or granted during this period.