Government Operations committee  If I understand the question correctly, you're saying if someone had the opportunity to approach a supervisor to—

Government Operations committee  I went to every level in the chain of command to explain that situation, and the system failed me. What I'm stating is that we need to have an independent area to report to, so that, as I said earlier, a proper investigation could be done without anybody knowing what's going on.

Government Operations committee  I have no valid explanation for you as to why they were doing it. They basically said that they had no obligation to tell me because I was a junior officer, but I explained to them that what they were doing was a criminal offence. With my 12 years of experience in that unit, I cannot explain to you why they were doing it.

Government Operations committee  Not at all. I benefit in no way.

Government Operations committee  I was working on document integrity.

Government Operations committee  I had a legal and moral obligation to report the actions that I witnessed and that could result in a loss of the Canadian government's credibility with its allies. I could not turn a blind eye to these wrongdoings, which were serious offences of a criminal nature. If our allies had discovered these things, Canada could have lost its credibility and well-established relationships with its allies, including NATO members.

Government Operations committee  Do I have parliamentary immunity?

Government Operations committee  Okay. Individuals in a position of authority ordered us to destroy passports and indicate in federal databases that we had returned the passports to the respective embassies. I intervened. I told management that this way of doing things was illegal. It resulted in the creation of false documents in a federal database used by the Federal Court of Canada for some of its cases.

Government Operations committee  Remaining transparent, but without pointing a finger at anyone, I can tell you that changing or amending the legislation to protect public servants scares some people and disrupts a very well-established culture. The only people who can make changes to help public servant whistle-blowers are the members of this committee.

Government Operations committee  I received threats from management. I was told that, if I spoke to MPs or the media, my federal government pension would be taken away. It was withheld deliberately for four years, from 2018 to 2022. The problem was resolved as a result of your office getting involved. It was a way of muzzling me for four years, so that I didn't speak to the media and so that my recourse options and deadline for disclosing the situation would run out.

Government Operations committee  It's just that my story is the story of every public servant who is loyal to this government and facing this dilemma. It's not just me. That's something that needs to be understood. I'm here on behalf of everybody who probably didn't have the strength or the chance that I had to be here today.

Government Operations committee  Yes, sir. My recommendation to the members of Parliament before was that any type of situation like mine, involving officers in an operational environment where there is risk to the Canadian government and the people working in the field, should be turned over to an independent person.

Government Operations committee  I think we all have to gain by working all together, every one of you, regardless of the party you represent. We all represent you, the public servant. When the problems we face are people in high positions of authority who are engaged in wrongdoing or criminal activity, we have nobody to turn to.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, sir.

Government Operations committee  Yes, but I would do it in a different way.