Québec City, March 21, 2024 – In the run-up to Whistleblower Awareness Day on Sunday, March 24, 2024, the members of the Public Integrity Partners Forum (the Forum) are highlighting the importance of whistleblowers in promoting a culture of public integrity in Québec.
"Whistleblowers are people in the public sector who see serious failings within their organization and who make the ethical and honest choice to disclose the problem. As we see it, Forum partners are indispensable allies in carrying out our organizations’ missions, but above all, in perpetuating public integrity culture," said Forum representative Me Marc-André Dowd, Québec’s Ombudsman.
To mark this occasion, the Forum is holding a half-day of conferences on Friday, March 22. The aim is to underscore whistleblowers’ crucial contribution to civil servants’ and elected officials’ promotion of public integrity and ethics. The event is also an opportunity to remind people of the protection available to them when they disclose wrongdoing to one of the Forum's member organizations.
Case studies
An audience from various municipal and provincial organizations will attend this hybrid event. François Arsenault, Assistant Secretary General for Parliamentary Affairs at the National Assembly, will open the event, followed by Me Marc-André Dowd, Québec’s Ombudsman.
A talk on the anti-corruption commissioner's investigations into the production and use of false vaccine evidence during the mass vaccination campaign to protect the public against COVID-19 will demonstrate the importance of whistleblowers' contribution to the findings. Martin Barabé, strategic advisor and coordinator of the Centrale de dénonciation des actes répréhensibles, and Martin Desrochers, team leader in the Investigations Section, will explain the process for handling disclosures and the investigative steps that followed.
Next, Guillaume Archambault Genois, an investigator with the Autorité des marchés publics' Service de la vérification et des enquêtes de l'exécution des marchés publics, will talk about the organizational mechanisms for protecting the information sources consulted as part of the review of the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable's contract management. His colleague from the Legal Department, Me Annie Parent, will be joining him to talk about the Autorité’s legal obligations in protecting information sources.
Finally, the Forum will welcome a retired agronomist from the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation, Louis Robert, who made headlines in 2019 for speaking out about government-funded research on pesticides. He will discuss his experience and share lessons that can benefit organizations and whistleblowers alike.
For the schedule and to register, see the event program.
Making disclosure easier
Whistleblower Awareness Day is an opportunity to remind anyone who has or thinks they have witnessed public wrongdoing that they can contact the proper authority. When in doubt, they can contact the Protecteur du citoyen, which will refer them to the right organization.
The Forum would also like to remind public institutions that they must do everything in their power to protect the identity of those who make such disclosures or who cooperate in audits or investigations stemming from disclosures. They must also ensure that whistleblowers do not become victims of reprisal.
For greater integrity within public bodies
In Québec, several organizations guard against and monitor public wrongdoing according to their respective areas of jurisdiction. The Appendix describes the members of the Public Integrity Partners Forum, supporters of Whistleblower Awareness Day 2024.
Public Integrity Partners Forum
Spearheaded by Québec’s Ombudsman, the Public Integrity Partners Forum harmonizes and coordinates activities to ensure public sector integrity, including those stemming from disclosures by whistleblowers. The members are the Autorité des marchés publics, the Office of the Inspector General of Ville de Montréal, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner, the Commissaire à l’éthique à la déontologie, the Commission municipale du Québec, Élections Québec, Lobbyisme Québec, and the Protecteur du citoyen.
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Source: Public Integrity Partners Forum
Media information:
Stéphane Hawey
Communications Advisor
Autorité des marchés publics
Phone: (418) 803-1065
medias@amp.quebec
APPENDIX – MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY PARTNERS FORUM
Public contracts
Autorité des marchés publics (AMP)
The AMP’s mission is to oversee all public contracts, in particular, compliance with the tendering and contract award process and to receive complaints from interested persons. Anyone may also confidentially communicate information concerning contracts when the public body concerned appears not to comply or not to have complied with the contractual rules in force. Call 1-888-772-7443 or go to amp.quebec.
Office of the Inspector General of Ville de Montréal (BIG)
The mandate of the Office of the Inspector General of Ville de Montréal is to oversee the contracting process and the execution of contracts by Ville de Montréal or any legal person related to it. The Inspector General must take all necessary measures to protect the identity of persons who have communicated information to her. Moreover, penal provisions protect a person who has communicated information to the Inspector General against reprisal. See bigmtl.ca.
Anti-corruption
Anti-Corruption Commissioner (Commissioner/UPAC)
The Anti-Corruption Commissioner is a specialized government-mandated law enforcement unit tasked to coordinate action to prevent and fight corruption in the public sector. It does this by leading and coordinating the government-appointed investigation and audit teams that form the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit. See upac.gouv.qc.ca.
Integrity of Québec’s public bodies (government departments, agencies and government corporations, health network, education system)
Protecteur du citoyen
The Protecteur du citoyen is an impartial and independent ombudsman tasked to ensure that the rights of citizens are upheld in their dealings with public services. The Protecteur du citoyen handles disclosures of wrongdoings relating to public services and reprisal complaints arising from disclosures. Call 1-800-463-5070, or go to protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca.
Lobbying
Lobbyisme Québec
Lobbyisme Québec is an independent organization which acts to promote the transparency and healthy practice of lobbying activities. It is tasked to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act and the Code of Conduct for Lobbyists by monitoring the representation of interests. It is also responsible for the lobbyist register (Carrefour Lobby Québec), which sees to it that the public’s right to know who is seeking to exercise influence with public institutions is upheld. Contact Lobbyisme Québec to report a situation which you believe is irregular.
Municipalities and probity of municipal elected officials
Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ)
As an independent organization in the municipal arena, the Commission municipale du Québec contributes to improving municipal governance and management, as well as public trust in municipal institutions.
The Commission is the one-stop gateway for handling disclosures and municipal integrity investigations. The Commission deals with disclosures concerning municipalities and ethical breaches by elected municipal officials. See cmq.gouv.qc.ca.
Protecteur du citoyen
The Protecteur du citoyen also oversees the integrity of municipalities and municipal bodies in certain specific cases, in particular, concerning laws of general application or situations related to provincial government departments. Since October 19, 2018, municipal bodies have been defined as public bodies within the meaning of the Act to facilitate the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to public bodies and are therefore subject to it. Phone 1-800-463-5070 or go to protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca.
Ethics and professional conduct of provincial elected officials
Commissaire à l’éthique et à la déontologie (CED)
The Commissaire à l’éthique et à la déontologie is an independent institution that advises, supports and assists the Members of the Québec National Assembly and their staff by ensuring that pre-established ethical principles and rules guide their conduct. The Commissioner is appointed by the National Assembly. The Commissaire is available to answer people’s questions in strictest confidence. See www.ced-qc.ca.
Integrity of the electoral system
Élections Québec
Élections Québec is neutral and independent. Its mission is to ensure the integrity, transparency, and reliability of elections and to promote Québec's democratic values. In addition to ensuring that provincial elections run smoothly, it also assists municipalities organize their elections, oversees application of political financing rules, and is the public plaintiff in ensuring compliance with Québec’s electoral laws. See www.electionsquebec.qc.ca.
