Employees will benefit from new protections when bringing forward concerns about serious wrongdoing as the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) expands to research universities and WorkSafeBC.
"By bringing employees from research universities and WorkSafeBC under the protections of PIDA, we are making sure that employees in the public sector feel safe and are protected should they need to report serious wrongdoing," said Niki Sharma, Attorney General. "Over the past five years, we have expanded PIDA to ensure that institutions have the framework in place to preserve and uphold integrity and accountability in the public sector."
PIDA has been implemented using a phased approach since it came into force in December 2019. This marks the final scheduled phase of implementation of the act in the broader public sector. Approximately 320,000 employees across 197 organizations are now covered by the act.
The act protects employees and promotes accountability and transparency by providing a system for employees to report serious wrongdoing to designated officers within their organization or to the Office of the Ombudsperson.
Disclosers and those who participate in PIDA investigations are protected from reprisal. This includes demotion, termination of employment or other measures that negatively affect their work conditions. The act also ensures that investigations are conducted fairly and promotes transparency by requiring organizations and the ombudsperson to annually report disclosures received and the results of any investigations.
"I have every confidence in the staff at WorkSafeBC, and I admire the work they do to help injured workers," said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour. "They deserve to feel safe knowing if they speak up about problems in their workplace they will also be protected, as they should be."
The Province passed PIDA in 2018 in response to the ombudsperson's 2017 report, Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters. The report made 41 recommendations that the Province has fully implemented.
The act has been progressively implemented across the public sector since it came into force on Dec. 1, 2019. It applies to individuals in government ministries; independent offices of the legislature; tribunals; Crown corporations; provincial health authorities, Providence Health Care; BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS); public K-12 schools; some public post-secondary educational institutions (including colleges); and select agencies, boards, and commissions. As of Dec. 1, 2024, it also applies to research universities and WorkSafeBC.
Learn More:
To read the Public Interest Disclosure Act, visit: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/18022
To learn more about PIDA and how to make a disclosure, visit: https://bcombudsperson.ca/public-interest-disclosure/how-to-report-a-wrong-doing/
Whistleblower legislation covers research universities, types of wrongdoing
This expansion will cover WorkSafe BC and the following six research universities:
- University of British Columbia
- University of Victoria
- University of Northern BC
- Simon Fraser University
- Thompson Rivers University
- Royal Roads University
Specific types of wrongdoing that may be disclosed under PIDA include:
- a serious act or omission that, if proven, would constitute an offence under an enactment of B.C., or Canada;
- an act or omission that creates substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of an employee's duties or functions;
- a serious misuse of public funds or public assets;
- gross or systemic mismanagement; and
- knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing above.
