Annual Report on the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act 2007-08

Introduction

Section 38.1 of the PSDPA requires that the President of the Treasury Board annually table the following information in Parliament with regard to the activities respecting disclosures made in public sector organizations that are subject to the Act:

• the number of general inquiries relating to the Act;

• the number of disclosures received under the Act and whether they were acted upon;

• the number of investigations commenced;

• whether any systemic problems were found that lead to wrongdoing; and

• any other matter that the President of the Canada Public Service Agency deems necessary.

This document addresses these requirements and is divided into the following chapters:

• Overview – a background and outline of the Act and definitions of key terms.

• Promoting Ethical Practices: Implementing the Act – a summary of activities related to values and ethics in the public sector, in light of the Act's requirement that the President of the Treasury Board promote ethical practices in the public sector and a positive environment for disclosing wrongdoings.

• Reported Disclosure Activity – information about specific activities related to disclosures of possible wrongdoing reported by organizations subject to the Act.

• Analysis: Looking Back – an interpretation of reported activity under the Act in the context of other measures related to values and ethics.

• Conclusion: Looking Ahead – a summary of next steps related to implementation of the Act, situating those results among the principal objectives of the Act.

An appendix provides more detailed information reported by public sector organizations.