Content updated on April 1, 2022.
Are you hesitant to speak out against wrongdoing within a municipality? You can do so in strictest confidence.
What is wrongdoing?
Wrongdoing occurs when a law, regulation, rule or code of ethics and professional conduct is broken. Whether voluntary or not, wrongdoing within a public body is serious. It harms the organization’s integrity and its mandate to serve people.
Here are a few examples of wrongdoing:
- Conflict of interest;
- Favouritism;
- Misuse of public funds;
- Mismanagement or abuse of authority;
- Seriously compromising a person’s health or safety;
- Seriously compromising the environment;
- Sharing confidential information.
Have you witnessed wrongdoing within a municipality or a municipal body? Whether committed by an elected official, staff member or supplier, wrongdoing must be denounced. Contact the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ).
The law protects whistleblowers
Someone who speaks out against wrongdoing is called a whistleblower. By disclosing wrongdoing, whistleblowers contribute to public institution integrity.
A disclosure is always confidential. The law protects the identity of whistleblowers or of people who cooperate in an investigation stemming from disclosure. The law also prohibits any form of reprisal against whistleblowers and collaborators.
Other public integrity recourse
In Québec, various organizations can investigate after receiving a disclosure:
- Québec Ombudsman: wrongdoing within public bodies (government departments, public corporations, school centres, school boards, universities, childcare centres, etc.);
- Autorité des marchés publics (AMP)/Bureau de l’inspecteur général de la Ville de Montréal (BIG): public contract irregularities;
- Commissaire à l’éthique et à la déontologie: violation of codes of ethics and rules of professional conduct by provincial elected officials;
- Élections Québec: violation of provincial electoral rules;
- Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC): corruption or collusion within Québec public corporations or political parties.
Don’t know which organization to go to? Contact the Québec Ombudsman. We will refer you to the right place.
