I move that Bill C-6, in Clause 12, be amended by replacing lines 9 and 10 on page 17 with the following:
“(2) No person shall take any of the following actions in respect of an employee by reason only that the employee has reported a contravention under the program referred to in subsection 5.395(1) or has participated in good faith in an investigation conducted under this act: (a) disciplinary action; (b) demotion; (c) dismissal, discharge, or termination of employment; (d) any action adversely affecting the employee's employment or terms and conditions of employment; or (e) threat of any of the actions referred in paragraphs (a) to (d). (3) A person does not have the protection of subsections (1) and (2) if”
So this is for the purpose of improving and increasing the protection for an employee against measures that might be taken against him. Discussions have been started, and the government has introduced amendment G-3.1. When we adopted it, we asked ourselves the question whether, once included in the bill by the government, it protected all the clauses of the act, including that on voluntary reporting. Our objective is to ensure that employees are fully protected in the case of voluntary reporting.
Is this the right place to insert amendment G-3.1? If not, shouldn't we—I've said this from the start: there's no harm in being extra careful—add another amendment in another place to ensure that the employee is protected in the event of voluntary reporting? I don't know whether the department has had occasion to consider the subject.