Handling disclosures
Two major stages
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Audit
- Receipt of your disclosure
- Admissibility analysis
- Preliminary audit
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Investigative process
- Investigation
- Investigative conclusions
- Recommendations to the public body concerned
Audit steps
- Receipt of your disclosure
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Can we process it? (Admissibility)
- We analyse the events to determine whether we can process your disclosure concerning a wrongdoing and a public body subject to the Act.
- End of processing. If we cannot process the disclosure, we refer you to the right place.
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Can we investigate? (Preliminary audit)
- We look into the disclosure further (requests for documents, etc.) to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that wrongdoing has occurred or is about to occur.
- End of processing if there are no reasonable grounds. Instead we refer you to the right recourse.
- If there are reasonable grounds, we begin investigating.
- A notice of investigation may be sent to the highest administrative authority of the public body concerned.
Stages of the investigative process
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Investigation
- Interview witnesses and requests for documents
- Interview the alleged wrongdoer
- Can we continue investigating?
We can stop the investigation any time if there is not sufficient evidence that wrongdoing has occurred or is about to occur. End of the investigation.
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Investigative conclusions
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Absence of wrongdoing
Letter with or without recommendations
Follow-up of recommendations or End of the investigation -
Presence of wrongdoing
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Notice of unfavourable findings to the wrongdoer
The wrongdoer is sent a notice of unfavourable findings
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Final report
- Draft investigation report sent to the highest administrative authority of the public body concerned;
- Final confidential investigation report sent to the wrongdoer and the highest administrative authority of the public body concerned.
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Notice of unfavourable findings to the wrongdoer
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Absence of wrongdoing
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Follow-up on recommendations
We ensure that action is taken regarding our recommendations until they are implemented to our satisfaction.
End of investigation