City of Prince George implements new Whistleblower policy

City staff now have a new policy protecting them, and allowing them to call out serious misconduct within the City of Prince George.

The new Whistleblower policy was discussed and passed during last night’s (Monday) city council meeting, and will allow more protection for staff when they report things like:

• Serious violations of City policies or applicable acts, regulations, or bylaws;
• Gross misuse of City resources for any illegal, improper, or unethical purpose;
• Fraud, theft, embezzling funds, or accepting kickbacks or bribes;
• Misappropriating funds, misdirecting funds or assets, or misuse of corporate information;
• Manipulating City accounting or audit records or destroying any accounting or audit-related records except as permitted by the City’s records management bylaw and procedures;
• Failure to take reasonable steps to report and/or rectify actions that may impact negatively on the City’s reputation resulting in the public losing confidence in the organization’s ability to deliver services;
• Violations of the Protection against Retaliation section of this policy; or
• Deliberately concealing information related to any of the above.

“The policy is intended to establish guidelines for reporting and investigating allegations of serious misconduct. It provides a list of what constitutes serious misconduct, and what is not considered to be serious misconduct,” said Director of Corporate Services Rae-Ann Emery.

“The policy includes provisions to ensure that concerns brought forward are dealt with as confidentially as possible and provides protection from retaliation for those who bring concerns and complaints forward.”

If a staff member has allegations made against them, the complaint will go through an administrative process under the oversight of the City manager.

If there are allegations made against the City manager, then the complaint will go to the Director of Corporate Services and the Mayor.

City Manager Walter Babicz mentioned that a lack of reporting could be seen as a serious offence as well.

“So if there’s a serious item that comes to the attention of somebody in a position of authority that meets this description, then there’s a duty to report and rectify within that person’s control.”

Councillor Susan Scott said a policy like this allows staff to better describe what they’re experiencing.

“I think giving this tool to our employees is not going to create a huge wave of issues, but rather backstop that sense of what you’re experiencing matters, and here’s an avenue that can help you express what you’re experiencing.”