Victoria – A Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly has released its final report following a comprehensive review of British Columbia’s Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), making 30 recommendations aimed at improving how the Act operates, strengthening confidentiality protections, and building trust in the public interest disclosure process. The Act became law in 2019 and requires a legislative review every five years.
BC Ombudsperson Sandy Hermiston welcomed the report and thanked the Committee for its work examining how the Act has functioned over its first five years.
“Whistleblowing plays a vital role in protecting integrity and accountability in the public sector,” said Hermiston. “We are encouraged to see that many of the issues identified through our office’s experience administering the Act are reflected in the Committee’s recommendations. If implemented, these changes would help make it clearer and safer for people to come forward when they see potential wrongdoing.”
To support the legislative review, the Ombudsperson released four reports drawing on the office’s experience investigating disclosures and reprisal complaints since 2019. In these reports, the Ombudsperson proposed amendments aimed at strengthening protections and improving how the legislation works in practice.
Several of the Ombudsperson’s proposals are reflected in the Committee’s recommendations, including expanding access to protections to additional workers such as contractors and volunteers, strengthening confidentiality protections for disclosers and witnesses, and supporting more consistent training across the public sector so disclosures are handled fairly and appropriately.
Hermiston noted that these improvements are important because employees considering whether to report wrongdoing must feel confident they will be protected from retaliation, and that their concerns will be taken seriously.
“Experience over the first five years of the Act shows that when employees trust the disclosure process, concerns are more likely to be raised and addressed before problems escalate,” she said.
PIDA provides a legal pathway for current and former government employees to report serious wrongdoing and protects them from reprisal. The Act now applies to nearly 200 public bodies and more than 320,000 public sector employees across British Columbia – plus countless former employees. Government will now consider the Committee’s recommendations and determine whether legislative amendments follow.
“Legislative reviews involve many perspectives, and this report represents an important step in ensuring the Act continues to evolve based on experience,” Hermiston added. “Our office looks forward to working constructively with government and public bodies as these recommendations are considered.”
