Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm Pamela Forward, president and executive director of Whistleblowing Canada Research Society. We appreciate very much the opportunity to speak with everybody today.
Our heartfelt thanks to MPs who, thus far, have supported the private member's bill, Bill C-290, an act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, and to the Bloc Québécois member of Parliament from Mirabel, Mr. Jean-Denis Garon, for bringing it forward.
This bill is a long-awaited signal. It's a sign of humanity, compassion and respect towards Canada's public servant whistle-blowers. It will make significant, much-needed improvements and hopefully provoke many more to the deficient PSDPA.
In my time with you I will highlight some historical facts, why improvement in Canada's whistle-blowing regime is needed and thoughts on what more can be done.
In terms of history, here are some key facts.
Both of Canada's major parties have had a hand in the creation of the PSDPA, which was implemented in 2007. Clearly, they knew before the fact that the bill would not improve anything for whistle-blowers. Justice Gomery warned of this in his report on the sponsorship scandal in 1995. Instead of encouraging and empowering whistle-blowers, what it really did was control and suppress them.
More missteps perpetuated the suffering and enabled wrongdoers. First, was the 2012 government decision to disobey a statute—an indictable offence. They did not conduct the required independent review of the PSDPA after five years. Next, was the new government leader's decision to ignore the OGGO committee's 2017 unanimous report of its review of the PSDPA, recommending more than 20 amendments, if I remember correctly.
Why are improvements needed then? Studies and whistle-blower cases confirm that truth and truth-tellers in Canada are imperilled by this uncompromising unwillingness—at least up to now—to provide true protection and stop reprisals. This peril includes major catastrophes to both individuals and society at large, up to, and including, death. When truth dies, harm and corruption grow.
The studies and findings are listed in my submission. They confirm our flawed legislation and dysfunctional cultures.
Also, a key finding is that legislation alone will not protect whistle-blowers. The overriding factor for success is culture. If laws are introduced into an unwelcoming, resistant culture, they will not be properly upheld.
Here are a few whistle-blower cases.
This is an old one that has current consequences. Thirty years ago, in the 1990s, national security whistle-blowers from the then Department of External Affairs, the RCMP and CSIS were suppressed and ostracized. Their careers and health were destroyed for just doing their jobs. They reported on corruption in the Canadian high commission in Hong Kong that allowed Chinese Triads—criminals—to flow into Canada and bring along with them drug and human trafficking, money laundering, inflated house prices, etc. The consequences have persisted until today and have grown to include interference in Canada's elections by the CCP.
Here is a current case waiting to be told. This case concerns the Canada Border Services Agency and an officer who simply did his job by refusing to comply with illegal and potentially criminal orders from his superiors. You're going to hear from him in person. What's breathtaking and frightening is the litany of failures of all of the authorities he contacted who should have helped and could have helped, but didn't. That sadly included MPs from most parties. It's a living testimony to the disintegration of our democratic institutions in real time.
That's something else to consider. I'm going to leave it because of the time. I hope it will come up again.
What is needed then is Bill C‑290. It contains eight internationally recognized best practices. There are 20 in all. A few more are needed to give a whistle-blower a reasonable chance to prevail. We urge you to work collaboratively to include as many as possible in the bill. This is not a partisan issue. Our democracy is under stress, and we need—and you need—whistle-blowers to come forward to help defend it.
The problems plaguing the current regime are.... I'm just going to list them and I have listed solutions in a table—