Overwhelmed by workload, public sector integrity commissioner asks for more money
Federal whistleblowers already waiting 2-3 years for investigations to begin, warns Harriet Solloway
Canada's public service integrity watchdog says it's so overwhelmed with tips about wrongdoing, from mismanagement to violations of departmental codes of conduct, that it needs to double its budget just to keep up.
Harriet Solloway, public sector integrity commissioner for just over a year, is warning the "crisis" could undermine her office's mandate — to investigate wrongdoing in the federal public sector and protect whistleblowers from reprisal.
She said it's already causing two- to three-year delays in analyzing new cases.
I will have to determine which parts of our mandate we continue and which parts I have to put on hold because I simply don't have the resources.- Harriet Solloway, public sector integrity commissioner
"If we don't get to the investigations, we can't get to the conclusions and we can't make recommendations," Solloway said. "If there are things that are amiss, they will continue to fester and probably get worse rather than improve."
Currently, 161 files regarding alleged wrongdoing or wrongful reprisal are on hold — five times the number of cases the commissioner has capacity to investigate each month, according to Solloway's office.
Since the start of the current fiscal year on April 1, the commissioner's office has already received 198 disclosures. It received a total of 332 during the previous fiscal year, suggesting a continuing upward trend, according to Solloway.
Advocates and whistleblowers have criticized the commissioner's office in the past, but Solloway said the surge in disclosures is a sign of growing confidence in their work. She said she's fearful any delays could undermine that new confidence.
"We may get to the point where … evidence may no longer be available. People may move on, we may not be able to find them. People's memories fade, and so it will impact the outcome," she said.
"In short order, I will have to determine which parts of our mandate we continue and which parts I have to put on hold because I simply don't have the resources."
Commissioner asks to double budget
For the first time since its creation in 2007, the commissioner's office is asking the federal government for more funding.
Specifically, it wants an immediate injection of $1.3 million. It's also asking to effectively double its annual budget with a $7.6-million increase until 2028-29, followed by a permanent $7.2-million increase thereafter.
Solloway said that cash infusion would allow her office to reduce and manage its current backlog.
The office of Treasury Board President Anita Anand said officials are reviewing the commissioner's request through the standard process for increasing operating budgets.
Spokesperson Myah Tomasi said the government has introduced measures to support disclosure, including internal process guidelines, training and awareness activities for public servants.
Even with the backlog and delays, Solloway is encouraging federal workers to continue reporting wrongdoing to her office.
"Please do come forward. Nobody will hear about your disclosure from us," Solloway said. "I remain optimistic that we'll get the resources that we need to be able to deal with these cases, as they need to be."
Meanwhile, an opposition private member's bill proposes updating the commissioner's mandate to expand her responsibilities, but with no new funding.
The bill, which critics say is long overdue, is currently before the Senate but could die on the order paper if there's an early election.
'Nip serious wrongdoing in the bud'
David Hutton, a senior fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Free Expression, agrees with Solloway's assessment that her office faces a crisis. He said properly funding the office provides substantial value for money.
"The integrity commissioner has the unique ability to nip serious wrongdoing in the bud," Hutton said.
Hutton pointed to the recent ArriveCan and Sustainable Development Technology Canada scandals, and even the Phoenix pay system fiasco as examples of costly mistakes that might have been avoided or mitigated if whistleblowers were more empowered.
"As soon as the whistleblower begins to see things wrong and shows themselves in any way to their management … then they're a target," he said.
Hutton offered the example of a bureaucrat who appeared before a parliamentary committee after raising the alarm over mismanagement of funds at Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
The individual, identified only as Witness 1, said their complaints had fallen on deaf ears despite pursuing it far up the chain within their department.
"Frankly, I'm embarrassed to be here because me being here is an indication that the systems that are set out to protect people don't work," the witness said during their opening remarks.
Law hasn't changed since 2007
Hutton said an overhaul of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), which gives the public sector commissioner their mandate, is overdue.
The Conservatives passed the law in 2007 as part of a suite of accountability measures proposed in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal. It was due for a legislative review in 2011, but that didn't happen.
A 2017 report by the House of Commons committee recommended substantial changes including placing the burden of proof on the employer in cases where the complainant faced retaliation for coming forward, and giving departments the duty to protect whistleblowers.
Those recommendations went nowhere. In 2022, the Trudeau government appointed an external task force that's scheduled to report by the end of this year.
Hutton said the current law gives the commissioner's office "unlimited discretion to do nothing" despite giving it investigative powers under the Inquiry Act.
"It just creates a series of bogus processes that tie [whistleblowers] up and exhaust them for years with really no possibility of any remedy," he said.
Senators reviewing update to law
A Bloc Québécois private member's bill to update the commissioner's mandate has made it through the House of Commons with bipartisan support and is currently undergoing second reading in the Senate.
Rookie MP Jean-Denis Garon said the Bill C-290 proposes better protection for whistleblowers and witnesses, as well as expanding the scope of complaints that can be investigated.
The statement from Anand's office said the government supports all efforts to strengthen the PSDPA and looks forward to Bill C-290 receiving royal assent.
Solloway said she expects the bill would increase her office's workload, but declined to comment on criticism of the existing act.
If the bill is amended in the Senate, it would have to be sent back to the House of Commons and would then be unlikely to get royal assent before the next election.
"We have limited time left," cautioned Sen. Pierre Dalphond, the bill's sponsor. "This legislation is a major improvement, and I think time has come to pass it.
"We have to have a system that is able to treat their complaints properly and efficiently in a short time."
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