Canada’s public service integrity watchdog has asked the federal government to double its budget, funding it says is necessary to keep up with the growing number of tips it receives about departmental wrongdoings and mismanagement.
The agency is requesting an immediate sum of $1.3 million and wants to see its annual budget double, asking for an additional $7.6 million per year until 2028-29, followed by a permanent increase of $7.2 million from then onward.
Public Sector Integrity Commissioner Harriet Solloway called the situation a “crisis” that could undermine her office’s mandate, which is to investigate malpractice in the federal public sector and protect whistleblowers after coming forward.
According to Solloway, the lack of funding has resulted in delays in investigating new cases,. which could last up to three years.
However, she argues that more funding could alleviate the backlog.
“If we don’t get to the investigations, we can’t get to the conclusions and we can’t make recommendations,” Solloway told CBC News. “If there are things that are amiss, they will continue to fester and probably get worse rather than improve.”
There are 161 files of alleged wrongdoing or wrongful reprisal that currently remain in limbo, which Solloway’s office said is five times more than the commissioner can handle.
The commissioner’s office received 332 disclosures during the 2023 fiscal year and has already received 198 disclosures for the 2024 fiscal year which began on April 1, suggesting an increasing trend in departmental wrongdoings.
“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,” said Solloway.
“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.”
While the commissioner’s office has been criticized in the past for not doing enough to protect whistleblowers, Solloway still encourages those with information to come forward anyway
“Please do come forward. Nobody will hear about your disclosure from us,” she 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.”
The office of Treasury Board President Anita Anand confirmed that officials are reviewing Solloway’s funding request via the standard process for increasing operating budgets.
This is the first time the commissioner’s office has requested an increase in funding since its creation in 2007.
Myah Tomasi, a spokesperson for the Trudeau government said that measures have been introduced to support disclosures like internal process trending and guidelines.
The Conservatives also introduced a private member’s bill proposing to update the commissioner’s mandate that would expand her responsibilities, however, it does not suggest additional funding.
Additionally, a Bloc Québécois private member’s bill to update the commissioner’s mandate has already made it through the House of Commons with bipartisan support and is currently in the Senate undergoing its second reading.
Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon, who sponsored the proposed legislation, also known as Bill C-290, said it proposes better protection for whistleblowers and witnesses in addition to expanding the scope of complaints that may be permitted for investigation.
