Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing is making a disclosure about a serious wrongdoing in the public service. People can report wrongdoing by making a disclosure to our office. People who seek advice, make a disclosure or are a witness in a related investigation have reprisal protection.
In Manitoba, the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act (PIDA) provides the process and criteria for disclosing significant and serious wrongdoing in provincial public services.
Wrongdoing is defined as:
- a very serious act or omission that is an offence under another law
- an act that creates a specific and substantial danger to life, health or safety of persons or the environment
- gross mismanagement including the mismanagement of public funds or government assets
- knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing
Public bodies you can make disclosures about
- provincial government departments
- crown corporations
- provincially appointed boards and commissions
- child and family services authorities and agencies
- health authorities
- hospitals
- personal care homes
- colleges and universities
- school divisions and districts
- specific municipalities
- independent offices of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
- some organizations that receive at least 50 per cent of operating funds from government
The PIDA regulations list the health, education, municipalities and other public bodies to which PIDA applies.
Who can make a disclosure of wrongdoing
Employees:
Any employee or officer of the public bodies covered by PIDA can make a disclosure of wrongdoing. A disclosure of wrongdoing can be made to any of the following:
- your supervisor
- the PIDA designated officer (every public body covered by PIDA has one)
- Manitoba Ombudsman
Your disclosure must include details of the wrongdoing that has been committed or is about to be committed.
Non-employees:
Others who are not employees of a public body but believe they have information a wrongdoing has been committed or is about to be committed by a public body, can make a disclosure to Manitoba Ombudsman.
Protection from reprisal related to whistleblowing
Employees who make a disclosure in good faith, ask for advice about disclosures, or cooperate in an investigation into alleged wrongdoing are protected from reprisal. Reprisal refers to measures taken against an employee such as a disciplinary measure, demotion, termination, or any measure to adversely affect employment or working conditions including making threats to do so. If you believe reprisal has occurred, because of your participation in a whistleblowing process, you may make a complaint to Manitoba Ombudsman.
Reprisal protections also apply to private sector employees and contractors, but Manitoba Ombudsman cannot receive or investigate complaints of reprisal from these individuals. Those individuals should seek alternate processes.
Seeking advice
You can contact us before submitting a disclosure or reprisal complaint. We can determine if your concern meets the criteria for wrongdoing or reprisal, or if it can be handled in a different, more appropriate way. This service is confidential.
It is common for people to disclose issues that do not reach the threshold for wrongdoing under PIDA legislation. This should not discourage employees from reporting. Once disclosed and assessed, matters that do not reach our threshold may be brought to the attention of the appropriate organizational leadership by our staff to alert them to manage the matter appropriately.
Making a disclosure of wrongdoing or a reprisal complaint to the ombudsman
A disclosure must include:
- a description of the wrongdoing
- the name of the person or persons alleged to have committed the wrongdoing, or be about to commit the wrongdoing
- the date of the wrongdoing
- whether the wrongdoing has already been disclosed and a response received.
A reprisal complaint must include:
- information about the related whistleblower process you participated in (did you seek advice, make a disclosure to your public body employer, participate in an investigation)
- what you think the reprisal action was (e.g., demotion, termination, working conditions, etc.)
- description and timeline of events
- names of people involved
A disclosure of wrongdoing in or relating to the public body or a reprisal complaint must be made in writing.
Report wrongdoing
Make a reprisal complaint
- Letter: 300-5 Donald Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2T4
- Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.mb.ca
- Try our complaint checker which will guide you through making a complaint and provide an option to send your concern to our intake team.
If you have any questions about making a disclosure of wrongdoing or a reprisal complaint, or require our form in an alternate format, please contact our office.
Anonymous disclosures
You can make an anonymous disclosure, but it can be difficult to investigate a disclosure without confirming details about the alleged wrongdoing with you.
What happens next
We will:
- contact you to discuss and clarify your concerns
- keep your identity confidential, to the fullest extent possible
- assess your disclosure or reprisal complaint to determine if it falls within the definitions under PIDA
- discuss the outcome of the assessment and next steps/options