I was pleased to see that in your presentation you focused on justice, understanding and assistance. However, whistleblowers do not necessarily have a financial problem to report. They may be speaking out against abusive behaviour on the part of a superior toward a subordinate or any other matter. How can whistleblowers be sure that they will not suffer reprisals afterwards?
These reprisals will not necessarily come from people from the same office. Reprisals could come from the regional level or from a deputy minister who has dealings with that particular workplace. You say that you are going to look into this matter, but at the moment there are people waiting to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. This morning, they are expecting to find out how far the act or your mandate allows you to go.