I prepared everything in English, but I can talk about it in English or in French.
I just want to talk about my whistleblowing experience. It was very difficult.
You talked about various ways to proceed when making a disclosure. I started out by going through the internal channels and turned to people who were higher in the organizational structure. It did not work at all, as they did not think it was a problem. They even threatened me. They told me that if I made unfounded allegations again, it would not work. You talked about the possibility of an independent person investigating. That would be much better, as people protect each other when internal channels are used. They are all colleagues and they protect each other. So there is a sort of a cover-up. I was told that there was no problem.
I then suffered major reprisal in my workplace. I was ostracized, and no one wanted to talk to me. They also started questioning the way I worked. Nothing I was doing was right. If I took a five-minute break like everyone else, they would say that I had taken 10 minutes. I was really hounded, and all my actions were scrutinized and questioned. It was very difficult.
When it comes to using internal channels, anonymity is important because, at the end of the day, those who commit wrongdoings are often in positions of power. They are often high-ranking officials. So if we are under those people, we suffer a great deal. We are put through the ringer, as they say. In any case, that was my experience.
I then went to the union representatives, who told me that the only way to proceed was to file grievances.
Do you know that it was employment insurance quotas I disclosed?