Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in the debate on the motion tabled in the House by the hon. member for Brampton.
The motion proposes that legislation be introduced to protect public servants who report wasteful spending, illegal activities or any other incidents which threaten the integrity of the government of Canada.
This means that such legislation could include appropriate sanctions against public service managers taking disciplinary measures as a form of reprisal against employees who disclose serious wrongdoing by their employer.
This proposal, like most legislation that comes before us, particularly in the area of wrongdoing, is not intended for the 99 per cent of people affected by it who act properly, who look always to do that which is right, fair and just and a responsible use of taxpayer money. However, like all laws that come before us, they are designed for those few who would choose to abuse a privilege, to act with disrespect or harmfully or viciously toward other members of society or toward their responsibilities.
A few years ago the previous auditor general suggested that we should set up a snitch line so that public service employees could call up and report abuses in their departments by other employees or managers. I was not terribly in favour of that because it sounded too much like repressive regimes around the world that have turned their citizenry into a nation of spies against their friends, relatives and co-workers.
However, I do think we want to encourage and, as my colleague from Brampton has said, the Financial Administration Act requires, members of the public to report any incident of abuse of public resources and to suffer consequences if they do not. On the other hand, employees are reluctant to do that because of fear of suffering the consequences through loss of a job, through the lack of opportunities for promotion and training. In other words, they fear suffering real and significant consequences in their own careers and advancement.
What the member for Brampton is trying to do is ask that we look at legislation that would ensure that kind of punitive activity cannot take place because a public service employee has exercised his or her legal responsibility and duty to the country by reporting wrongdoing.
It recognizes that whistleblowing can be in the public interest and particularly if wasteful spending or illegal activities or even the integrity of the government itself is at issue. We are all interested in any proposal that would lead to improvements in the way government programs are delivered. It would lead to greater efficiencies and effectiveness and to the elimination of waste, mismanagement or misconduct. That is why I had some regrets that the motion before us is not votable. We want to try to foster that attitude in the public service where employees feel free to suggest better ways and feel free to come forward with knowledge about how public money is being wasted or used illegally.
Right now there is no mechanism to protect them. There are a number of measures in place that certainly provide opportunities. The grievance process in the public service, as part of legislation, is certainly one such mechanism whereby people who feel that they have been wrongly denied opportunities, perhaps for doing something that was their public duty to do, can certainly complain. But that is a long, onerous and often damaging process. It is a very confrontational process.
The harassment policy prevents an employer or manager from treating employees in an abusive way. This would certainly be the case if retaliation for the exposure of wrongdoing were involved.
The hon. member for Brampton is not alone in having dealt with constituents who know of wrongdoing or who suspect wrongdoing in the public service who are afraid to come forward to make a complaint to correct the waste and abuse of public resources.
I do not believe that legislation such as this would be a blanket answer. Legislation cannot protect against the bad will and malicious nature of some people. I say that emphasizing that laws such as this are written for a very small percentage of people who do not behave in a proper manner, either in their personal lives or in their work as public service employees. Legislation such as this would be irrelevant to 99 per cent of public servants, perhaps more.
We have to look at how legislation such as this might affect other obligations of employees. For instance, confidentiality is an obligation of all federal public servants by virtue of the Official Secrets Act and the oath or affirmation of secrecy taken by public servants upon entering the service.
It is not a simple matter. I do not pretend that legislation could necessarily guarantee protection. However, it is an issue which Parliament should look into. Can we ensure that our employees feel perfectly comfortable when they identify serious faults and perhaps illegalities in coming forward in the public interest and making that information known? Unless the information is known, nothing can be done to correct the situation.
A number of other jurisdictions have taken such measures. We have a number of models which we could consider. This is something which employees of the public service have been asking of government for some time. I compliment the hon. member for Brampton for bringing forward this motion today.