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Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen Strong, ethical leadership from senior managers will do more to stop mismanagement and wrongdoing in the public service than the Conservatives' much-touted whistleblower legislation, according to Canada's spending watchdog. Auditor General Sheila Fraser told the Commons public accounts committee yesterday that promised legal protection for bureaucrats who report suspected wrongdoing in their departments shows the system is broken and government needs a culture of values and ethics that start at the top. She conceded there is no stopping the drive for the law, but questioned whether it will encourage people to come forward with complaints. "I have always felt that to resort to whistleblower legislation, where people feel they need that kind of protection, is an indication that the system is not healthy and people can't freely bring forward cases of wrongdoing with the confidence that it will be dealt with confidentially and also that appropriate action will be taken." Ms. Fraser was at the committee to discuss her latest report, which included a damaging audit into the spending abuses of Ron Stewart as federal ombudsman for prisoners. Ms. Fraser has said her biggest concern was that the abuses went on for so long and no one came forward to stop it. Ms. Fraser's reservations about whistleblower protection came when repeatedly pressed by Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre on how the government could stop spending abuses without such a law. Mr. Poilievre is an outspoken champion of whistleblower legislation, which is the key piece of the Harper government's prized accountability bill. "Why is it when someone sees abuses no one sounds the alarms and cries out in the name of taxpayers for something to be done? ... Do you have any idea why you have to be the one who finds the fire that has been burning for years?" Ms. Fraser pointed to her recent report into the ethical conduct of the Mounties, border guards and prison guards who overwhelmingly said they would report suspected cases of wrongdoing, but they didn't think their co-workers would and said they wouldn't be respected by their colleagues if they did. A significant number also doubted that management would do anything about it. Ms. Fraser said she believes that managers at the Office of the Correctional Investigator knew about Mr. Stewart's spending abuses, but they said or did nothing, which sends a signal to the rest of the staff. "I think there has to be a significant roles for senior leaders in the public service to show values and ethics are more than a policy ... that it is taken seriously and sanctions are imposed that are appropriate." She said legal protection against reprisals wouldn't ease fears of bureaucrats who fear personal consequences of exposing problems. "If there is only legal protection, it takes an awful lot of courage to do that and I think a lot of people would rather say 'this isn't my responsibility, I didn't sign off on those documents, and I am not going to get involved rather than assume the risk of ... (personal) consequences," she said. The committee is also considering a motion, initiated by NDP MP David Christopherson, to find out who leaked Ms. Fraser's reports. Details of last spring's gun registry report and her latest audit into the huge relocation contract to move 15,000 RCMP, military and bureaucrats were leaked to the media before they were tabled in Parliament. Ms. Fraser said she would welcome a probe by the committee. "I am annoyed that these things are getting leaked ... and we have
gone as far as we can go. Physical control over the documents is one thing
... but the issue is how do you keep people from talking and how will
you ever know whom it was."
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