Thank you, gentlemen.
Let me start by saying that, after listening to you, I wouldn't want to become a whistle-blower. Even if I had nothing to lose, I think that I would still come out a loser. No matter which country we are talking about or what its legislation or regulations are, I don't have much confidence.
I sometimes get the sense that the whistle-blower regime is a huge elephant. My definition of a whistle-blower is someone who indeed blows the whistle, but who does not become responsible for that action. The impression I have, however, is that, right now, the whistle-blower bears all, or nearly all, the responsibility. In many cases, the onus of proof is entirely on the whistle-blower. Things may be slightly different in some countries, where distinctions exist.
Mr. Devine, when I went to the Government Accountability Project, or GAP, website, I saw that people could report fraud or other illegal activity online. That made me wonder whether people weren't afraid to fill out the form on the Internet. All of the technical and legal details are listed, and then, it says that everyone is shielded. The whistle-blower, however, receives little or no protection, at least initially.
In the case of journalists, the public or confidentiality aspect hardly ever comes into question. Everyone knows that, when information is revealed to journalists, they usually take steps to protect their sources. In this situation though, a mechanism is being created to protect the system within the system. Frankly, I cannot get past the fact that the results are so poor, given all the costs and people involved. My sense is that very little is achieved in the way of results.
Mr. Devine, I don't know where you stand, but, on a philosophical level, I don't think we're moving towards practical solutions for whistle-blowers around the world.