David Hutton
David Hutton is a senior fellow at the Centre For Free Expression at Ryerson University and former executive director of FAIR.
This is the appropriate time for the government to beef up oversight and accountability mechanisms, not weaken them.
The Liberals need to put in place a system that truly protects whistleblowers and the Canadian public. Perhaps then we can begin to restore our national image and rejoin the ranks of truly clean and well-governed democracies.
Regardless of ego and ambition, why can’t our leaders understand the harm being done to others by the current, deeply flawed so-called whistleblower protection law?
It’s very difficult to believe that the Liberals are still ignorant of the benefits of this internationally accepted successful anti-corruption measure.
The ball is in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s court: his government has access to all the information, expert guidance and best practices that it needs to quickly put in place a proper whistleblowing regime—one that brings us in line with the other democracies that we consider our peers.
The Treasury Board’s track record has repeatedly proven it lacks not only the expertise to produce an effective whistleblowing law, but also any intention of doing so.
A successor to Joe Friday must be appointed who will be motivated to protect the public, not to shield the government from embarrassment.
