Whistleblower Procedure

“Wrongdoing” is defined in the act as:

• A contravention of an act, a regulation made pursuant to an act, an act of the Parliament of Canada or a regulation made pursuant to an act of the Parliament of Canada.
• An act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of individuals or to the environment.
• Gross mismanagement of public funds or a public assets, or the delivery of a public service.
• Gross mismanagement of employees by a pattern of behavior or conduct of a systemic nature that indicates a problem in the culture of the organization relating to bullying, harassment or intimidation.
• Knowingly directing or counselling an individual to commit a wrongdoing.

Employees are encouraged to first raise their concerns to their immediate supervisor. If, for whatever reason, this is not possible, then:

• A disclosure of alleged wrongdoing can be made to the Human Resources director.
• If the disclosure is about the Human Resources director the disclosure may be made to the President.
• If the disclosure is about the president, the disclosure may be made to the chair of Lakeland College's Board of Governors or to the Office of the Public Interest Commissioner for Alberta.
• If the disclosure is about the Chair or any member of the Board of Governors, the disclosure may be made to the Office of the Public Interest Commissioner for Alberta.

All disclosures must be made in writing and should include the following information:

• A description of the alleged wrongdoing, including the date or dates of the alleged wrongdoing, if known, providing as much specific information as possible
• Identification of everyone involved in the suspected wrongdoing;
• Information about any potential financial interests or rewards, if known;
• The known facts, circumstances and/or actions observed by the discloser, including any information that may be of assistance in the investigation.
• Investigation of disclosures

All disclosures made will be reviewed and acknowledged promptly:

• Within five business days from the date on which a disclosure is received, receipt of the disclosure will be confirmed in writing.
• The Human Resources director, or delegate, will then undertake an initial assessment of the alleged wrongdoing.
• Within 20 business days of receipt of the disclosure, the Human Resources director will notify the individual who made the disclosure as to the actions that will take place to investigate the allegations on the basis of the evidence gathered in the initial assessment. Not all disclosures proceed to a formal investigation.
• Where a formal investigation is necessary it will be completed within 110 business days from the date on which the disclosure was received.

The identity of the discloser will be kept confidential for as long as possible, provided that this does not interfere with the ability to carry out a proper investigation. The investigator will discuss with the discloser and any witnesses under what circumstances their confidentiality may be compromised.

Employees who report in good faith an alleged or actual wrongdoing have the right to be protected from reprisals such as:

• disciplinary action, suspension, dismissal or threat of dismissal or layoff
• transfer or change of job location, demotion or withholding of due promotion
• intimidation, coercion, harassment, discrimination or threats
• reduction of salary or wages, or change to hours of work
• anything that adversely affects the employment or working conditions of the employee

An employee who believes that they have been subjected to reprisal as a result of making a disclosure or participating in an investigation of disclosure of wrongdoing should report this to the president.

Lakeland College's Human Resources director will report the outcome of the investigation to the president and will advise the discloser that the investigation is complete, and provide as much information as possible to the discloser without compromising the privacy of any individual involved in the investigation.

The college president will ensure that the recommendations are implemented and will include information in the annual report.

Talk to:

• your supervisor
• human resources director
• Lakeland's president
• contact the public interest commissioner's office at 780 641 8659 or visit the public interest commissioner's website.