Reprisal

If you believe you have been subjected to any form of reprisal for having come forward in good faith to report a wrongdoing, or if, as a witness, you are subjected to any form of reprisal for having provided information during the conduct of an investigation, you should contact the Internal Disclosure Office (IDO), which is located within the Directorate of Internal Disclosures.  The IDO can answer your questions, explain the protections afforded to you under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA) and the Canadian Armed Forces Disclosure Process (CAF DP), and guide you through the submission process.

If you are a civilian employee and you have decided to submit a formal complaint of reprisal, the IDO can help you with your submission to the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) of Canada, who is the sole authority to conduct investigations into allegations of reprisal throughout the government.

A CAF member who believes that reprisal has been taken against them for having made a disclosure under the (CAF DP), or for having cooperated in an investigation into a disclosure, should also contact the IDO.

For DND Public Servants

For public servants, the PSDPA, subsection 2(1) defines reprisal as:

  • a disciplinary measure;
  • the demotion of the public servant;
  • the termination of employment of the public servant;
  • any measure that adversely affects the employment or working conditions of the public servant; or
  • a threat to take any of the measures identified above.
For CAF Members

For CAF members, reprisal is defined as:

  • a disciplinary action;
  • a career remedial measure or other administrative action;
  • the demotion of a person;
  • the release, recommendation for release or termination of employment of the person;
  • any measure that adversely affects the service, employment or working conditions of the person; or
  • a threat to take any of the actions identified above.

The QR&O article 19.15 states that a reprisal against CAF members is a service offence under the Code of Service Discipline.

Do you think inappropriate conduct or unfair treatment at work has taken place, but doesn’t meet the threshold of what constitutes reprisal by definition?

To learn about other types of inappropriate conduct and mechanisms, please refer to the webpage: submit a complaint or report an incident.

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