Obviously, there's a certain expertise that labour tribunals develop that the courts have recognized and give deference to, and we would be obviously more familiar and therefore more comfortable with having these proceedings before an appropriate labour tribunal.
For example, I think the act already indicates that if you're a federal public servant you could go to the Public Service Staff Relations Board, except if you're an employee of the Public Service Staff Relations Board, and then you go to the Canada board, and if our proposal is adopted, to extend this to people within provincial labour jurisdiction. They could go to their own labour boards or even have the option of going to the arbitration board process that's under the collective agreement.
If you're going to a labour board, as opposed to a new tribunal, the important thing is that this board should also have the power that's set out in proposed subsection 21.8 of the bill, to respond appropriately to the wrongdoer who retaliated. Labour boards generally only give redress to employees and don't engage, if you like, in punishment of the wrongdoer.
It's very important that proposed subsection 21.8 be enacted in some form, otherwise the retaliator will have no incentive not to engage in retaliation. The worst that can happen is that the person who discloses will be returned to work, but the wrongdoer, obviously, hopes there will be pressure on that person to give up before the case is addressed. There need to be penalties beyond redress to the whistle-blower to give an incentive to the potential retaliator not to engage in that conduct.