Vile wretches and public heroes: A survey of Canadian whistleblowing literature

The origins and effects of public servant confidence in whistleblowing protection regimes

“…Drawing on our Canadian Public Sector Research Panel (CPSRPanel)—a large group of public servants in Canada who have agreed to participate in academic research—we conducted a survey with both descriptive and experimental dimensions to identify and measure knowledge, confidence and legitimacy of unauthorized disclosure (i.e., leaking to media) in the context of diverse whistleblowing regimes. This study both contributes to remedying a dearth of research in Canada on whistleblowing (Bron ), the broader comparative literature on how (or if) whistleblowing protections are working well in practice, and signals steps that governments can take to reinforce confidence in their whistleblowing regimes.…”

“…Notwithstanding the critiques among some about the desirability and effectiveness of whistleblowing regimes, they have proliferated across the world in the past two decades. Indeed, Sossin's reservations on statutory regimes were eclipsed after the Sponsorship Scandal in Canada (Bron ), and presumably based on his belief that on balance whistleblowing regimes ‘usually have the effect of rendering illegitimate unofficial mechanisms [of disclosure] (e.g., contacting the media, leaking documents)’ (Sossin , p. 39). Not all scholars, however, draw such a bright line between ‘legitimate’ whistleblowing and ‘illegitimate’ leaking (see Savage ), and while much early whistleblower scholarship privileged the confidence of government over disclosure, the balance of these norms may be evolving in light of the proliferation of whistleblowing and highly serious leaks aimed at protecting the public interest (e.g., in 2019, a CIA agent assigned to Ukraine affairs in the White House leaking to media after being stifled by formal whistleblowing channels).…”

“…Indeed, Martin‐Bariteau and Newman () suggest, for example, that Canada's relatively new whistleblower laws are ‘unclear, uncertain, and deficient’ (p. 3). Bron () argues that we need to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of various whistleblowing models and that a lack of quantitative data has hampered their study, particularly in Canada.…”