Thank you for the question.
Of course, the effect of the delay weighs heavily on the whistle-blower, depending on the nature of the case. Sometimes a whistle-blower will divulge something that has nothing to do with them personally, but is something they know about. They care enough about it to have brought it forward and they want to see it addressed.
Frankly, we could probably never do it quickly enough, because when people are upset about something, they want it addressed. The fact is that it lingers longer than it should. Certainly, I would say for a reprisal case, it's terrible if it takes too long, because that has an impact on individuals.
I also want to take the time to underscore the impact on those who are accused of having committed wrongdoings under the act. It is not easy for them to live under that cloud for a year or whatever period of time, because that cloud follows them around, and not all of our cases end up with founded wrongdoing, so it's not fair to anybody. It really isn't fair to anybody.
In terms of how that impacts the Canadian public, if people perceive that things did not happen in a reasonable time frame, they have to wonder whether it's theatre or it's real.