VICTORIA – BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke today released four reports to support the Legislative Assembly’s mandatory five-year review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA). The reports give legislators real case examples, lessons learned, and proposed amendments to strengthen the Act, based on the Ombudsperson’s experience investigating disclosures of public wrongdoing.
“PIDA has worked well in many respects. Employees are using it, public bodies have worked hard to implement it, and important disclosures have been investigated, resulting in improvements to public services,” said Chalke. “At the same time, my office’s analysis of five years of experience highlights where the law is falling short. It’s time to think long term about how this law can best support public sector integrity. This review is an opportunity to build on what’s working and fix what’s not.”
While PIDA has created safe reporting and meaningful investigations, the Ombudsperson’s reports reveal limitations that undermine its effectiveness, including:
- key public sectors and employees are still not covered by the Act
- too few employees are aware of PIDA’s protections and many fear reprisal for speaking up
- too many public sector staff responsible for receiving internal disclosures are not receiving adequate training about their responsibilities under the Act
Public employees in nearly 200 public organizations have rights to disclose wrongdoing internally to their employer or externally to the Ombudsperson. Since PIDA came into force in 2019, the Ombudsperson has handled the majority of disclosures and reprisal complaints under the Act, giving the office an unparalleled perspective on how the law functions in practice. In Report No. 5 – Proposed Amendments, Chalke recommends 38 targeted amendments to strengthen the Act and its protections, including:
Expand who can access the protections of the Act
- Extend PIDA to all public bodies currently under the Ombudsperson Act (500 additional public bodies), including professional regulatory bodies, local governments, and additional agencies, boards, and commissions.
- Include municipal police departments and agencies, as well as administrative functions of the legislature.
- Broaden eligibility to make a disclosure to include contractors and volunteers who, similar to employees, have inside knowledge but are subject to confidentiality obligations.
More effective protections for disclosers
- Ensure disclosers are protected from retaliation even if an investigation does not occur.
- Require staff of public bodies with responsibilities under the Act to maintain the confidentiality of disclosers and witnesses.
Improve the management of disclosures and investigations
- Eliminate the assessment of whether disclosures are made in good faith so that the focus is on the content of the disclosure, not an assessment of the motivation of the employee making the disclosure.
- Improve training for supervisors and designated officers.
- Ensure the Ombudsperson has access to privileged information under PIDA in a manner similar to existing access under the Ombudsperson Act.
“These are not theoretical fixes, nor are they a complete makeover of the Act. Rather, they come directly from what we have witnessed and experienced first-hand over the past five years,” said Chalke. “By adopting these amendments, the Legislature can ensure PIDA is clearer, safer, and more consistent across the public sector.”
The four reports – Supporting Implementation and Providing Guidance, Awareness and Trust, Operational Review, and Proposed Amendments – have been tabled with the special committee of the Legislative Assembly tasked with reviewing PIDA. The committee will consider the Ombudsperson’s recommendations, alongside other submissions, before reporting back to government.