Review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
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Advisory Task Force
On November 29, 2022, the President of the Treasury Board announced the appointment of an external task force that would explore revisions to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA). The task force, established in 2023, completed its mandate in 2025.
Members of the Advisory Task Force
The task force consisted of a senior officer for internal disclosure, academics, bargaining agent representatives and individuals with experience in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Suzanne Craig (Co-Chair)
Ms. Craig is the Integrity Commissioner for the City of Vaughan. She has more than 15 years of legal, management and policy experience in the public and private sectors, including various leadership positions at the Province of Ontario.
Mary McFadyen (Co-Chair)
Ms. McFadyen served as the Ombudsman and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner for the Province of Saskatchewan from April 2014 to May 2022. She has significant experience in the public sector, having held senior positions at the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of Justice Canada.
Dr. Stephen Maguire
Dr. Maguire is an Adjunct Research Professor in the Ethics and Public Affairs Doctoral Program and Executive Director of the Centre on Values and Ethics at Carleton University. He founded and also teaches in the Certificate Program in Organizational Values and Ethics.
Professor Basil Alexander
Professor Alexander is a legal academic who has taught at Osgoode Hall Law School, the Université de Sherbrooke and the University of New Brunswick and is now at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has several years of professional experience in public interest law and significant experience serving universities and communities in various roles.
David Yazbeck
Mr. Yazbeck is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Association of Justice Counsel, previously Director, National Labour Relations, at the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) where he ran the Negotiations and Compensation Services sections of PIPSC. Prior to this, he practised labour and human rights law for 29 years, representing workers and a number of unions, mostly in the federal public service.
Scott Chamberlain
Mr. Chamberlain is the Director of Labour Relations and General Counsel at the Association of Canadian Financial Officers (ACFO). In that capacity, he also leads contract negotiations and many of ACFO’s policy research and advocacy initiatives with a particular focus on tax fairness and whistleblower protection.
Raymond Kunze
Mr. Kunze served as the Ombuds at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. He previously served as the Chief Audit Executive at Global Affairs Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; and Infrastructure Canada, as well as the Senior Officer for Disclosure at two departments.
Professor Geneviève Cartier (member from November 2022 to October 2023)
Professor Cartier is a Professor of Law at Université de Sherbrooke. She teaches and researches administrative law and legal theory. She left the task force in October 2023 to support the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference.
Consultations
The task force engaged in a wide-ranging consultation process with internal and external stakeholders. Feedback obtained during this process informed the task force’s recommendations to enhance the federal disclosure process and strengthen protections and supports for public servants who disclose wrongdoing.
The consultation process also included an online survey conducted in 2024 that sought input from individuals interested in improvements to the PSDPA on:
- protections and supports for public servants who disclose wrongdoing
- enhancements to the federal disclosure process
- improvements to the operation and administration of the PSDPA
Report
The task force’s report offers recommendations to the government on potential amendments to the PSDPA. These proposed changes aim to enhance support and protection for federal employees who come forward to disclose wrongdoing. The task force report is now available: Strengthening Whistleblower Protection: The Report of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act Review Task Force.
The results of the task force survey complement consultations undertaken with a variety of stakeholders and should be interpreted within the context of the task force report. The survey results are now available: Survey Results of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act Review Task Force.
Note to readers
The task force wishes to thank those who responded to the online survey conducted in 2024. Your contribution to this important initiative is appreciated.