Winnipeg, MB – A motion recommending that City of Winnipeg employees be included within the provincial whistleblower protection framework will be tabled for consideration at next week's Executive Policy Committee meeting, Mayor Brian Bowman announced today.
“City employees work incredibly hard to provide high quality services to residents across our city,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “An open and transparent City Hall needs to ensure employees feel safe and protected if they feel the need to report incidents of wrongdoing in the workplace, and if included within the provincial whistleblower framework they would have those protections.”
In February 2015, Council requested the Province of Manitoba either amend The City of Winnipeg Charter or The Public Interest Disclosure Act to include statutory whistleblower protection for City of Winnipeg employees and members of the public appointed to City of Winnipeg boards and commissions.
In response, the provincial government recently passed The Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Amendment Act which is scheduled to come into force on December 4, 2018. This act enables the provincial government, by regulation, to extend whistleblower protections under the act to include employees of municipalities.
The Minister of Municipal Relations recently asked the City of Winnipeg to advise via Council resolution if the City of Winnipeg wishes to be included in the provincial whistleblower protection framework concurrent with the act coming into force on December 4, 2018, and that they do so no later than October 15, 2018.
The motion to be introduced by Mayor Bowman will recommend that Council formally request to be included in provincial statutory whistleblower protection under The Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Amendment Act. The motion will recommend that these statutory protections be extended to all civic employees, including members of the public appointed to City of Winnipeg boards and commissions, Executive Assistants to Councillors, and employees of the Mayor’s Office.
“Providing whistleblower protection to City of Winnipeg employees complements many other measures implemented over the last four years to increase the level of openness and transparency at City Hall,” said Mayor Bowman. “I want to thank the provincial government for the changes introduced allowing for these protections to be extended to City of Winnipeg employees, and for the opportunity to have those protections in place as soon as the new legislation comes into force later this year.”
The motion will be considered at next week’s Executive Policy Committee meeting on September 12. If adopted, it will then proceed to Council for consideration on September 20 which, if adopted, will meet the October 15 provincial submission deadline.