Question Period Note: Whistleblower Protection

What are the ongoing efforts being taken by the Government of Canada regarding whistleblower protections?

• The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act protects public servants against reprisals when they report wrongdoing in the workplace.
• As part of ongoing efforts to promote a positive, respectful, and safe public service culture, a task force was appointed to review the Act and identify opportunities to improve the disclosure process.
• The Task Force has made 35 recommendations, which we are carefully considering as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen Canada’s whistleblowing regime.

As part of the former Minister’s mandate to take action to improve the government’s whistleblower protections and supports, the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act Review Task Force was created in November 2022. Composed of people who bring significant experience and diverse expertise within the field, the Task Force began its work in January 2023 and provided their report to the President of the Treasury Board on December 1, 2025.

The report was released on April 24th and contains 35 recommendations to improve the whistleblowing regime. It addresses key issues such as fear of retaliation, lack of accountability, unclear reporting mechanisms, lack of awareness of reprisal protections, and the need for cultural change. Its tone is neutral and balanced.

This review considered the work conducted by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and the recommendations from its 2017 report, research on the latest developments in whistleblowing in other jurisdictions, input from stakeholders, a survey accessible to the public sector and members of the general public, as well as views expressed during Parliamentary consideration of Private Members Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, introduced in the previous Parliament by Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon in June 2022. The Bloc Quebecois has continued to focus on the need to enhance whistleblower protections in their 2025 platform and may re-introduce similar legislation.

On October 31, 2025, the Annual Report on the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act for 2024-2025 was tabled by the President of the Treasury Board. It showed that 279 public servants made 278 internal disclosures concerning 727 allegations of wrongdoing. This compares to 250 public servants who made 266 internal disclosures concerning 425 allegations of wrongdoing in 2023–24.

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