71 CBLJ 357

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CORPORATE WHISTLEBLOWER HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS IN CANADA: A FAILING GRADE

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Heather Cohen 

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ABSTRACT 

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Corporate whistleblowers should be viewed and treated as human rights defenders, who, by their nature as such, are entitled to particular human rights protections. For their human rights to be respected: whistleblowers and their disclosures should be broadly defined; they should be easily able to understand their rights; they should be entitled to confidentiality and anonymity; their disclosures should lead to action; they must be protected against retaliation; and they must have a right to a remedy. Ontario, and Canada in general, have a number of legislative schemes relating to the protection of corporate whistleblowers, but these are complex, and ultimately, largely inadequate. The broadest such federal scheme provides only for accountability once retaliation has occurred and has never been used. The Ontario securities whistleblower regime is much more comprehensive, but applies only to violations of securities laws, and still has important limitations.