NEWS RELEASE: Province Must Move Forward with Whistleblower Legislation

Province Must Move Forward with Whistleblower Legislation

Five Years Since Legislation Originally Promised

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) is calling on the provincial government to enact whistleblower legislation five years after it was initially promised.

“The provincial government must enact whistleblower legislation with adequate protection for public employees who speak out when the interests of the public are compromised,” said NAPE President Carol Furlong. “The interests and safety of the public should be of paramount importance and public sector workers should not have to remain silent out of a fear of reprisals by their employer.”

The provincial government promised to create legislation in 2007 to protect employees who want to report what they consider wrongdoing following a review of the province’s legislature by Justice Derek Green. In his report, Justice Green recommended whistleblower legislation that would allow those in the legislative branch to disclose improper, unsafe or unethical behavior without fear of reprisal by their employer. To-date, no such legislation has been enacted by the provincial government. NAPE has long argued that similar legislation should be enacted for all public service and government agency workers.

“We understood that whistleblower legislation would not be created overnight, but we could never have imagined that it would still not be implemented over five years later,” stated Furlong. “We are calling on the provincial government to fulfill its promise to the people of the province and move forward with enacting effective whistleblower legislation in the immediate future.”

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