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health risks during SARS,34 the health care workers who blew the
whistle on the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre cardiac surgery
program,35 and Dr. Nancy Oliveri’s disclosure, despite strong warn-
ings from the manufacturer and others, of risks associated with the
use of deferiprone to her patients.36
Not surprisingly, each of these incidents sparked calls for stron-
ger whistleblowing protections.37 Imposing effective regulations on
employers and institutions fosters a workplace culture that promotes
wider disclosure of risks to public health and patient safety.38
However, despite repeated calls for improvement, whistleblower
protection across Canada is piecemeal at best.39 Some provinces (for
example, Ontario) have laws that protect whistleblowers, but their
application is limited to certain types of activities or workers.40 Most
notable for broad protection is Manitoba, which enacted comprehen-
sive legislation for health care workers following the Sinclair inquiry.
The Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act and accom-
panying regulations protect health care workers who make a disclo-
sure in good faith against reprisals.41
34. The SARS Commission, SARS
Commission
Executive
Summary (Toronto: The SARS
Commission, 2006) (Commissioner: The Honourable Justice Archie Campbell),
online: Archives of Ontario <http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/e_records/sars/
report/index.html> [Campbell]. The SARS Commission brought to light real
fears of reprisals and retaliation among health care workers.
35. Justice Murray Sinclair, The Report of the Manitoba Paediatric Cardiac Surgery
Inquest (Winnipeg: Provincial Court of Manitoba, 27 November 2000) [Sinclair].
36. Mariam Schuman, “The Drug Trial: Nancy Olivieri and the Scandal That Rocked
the Hospital For Sick Children” (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2005).
37. Campbell, supra note 34; Sinclair, supra note 35; Jon Thompson, Patricia Baird &
Jocelyn Downie, Report
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
on
the
Case
Involving
Dr. Nancy
Olivieri, the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, and Apotex Inc.
(Ottawa: Canadian Association of University Teachers, 2001).
38. Aled Jones, “The Role of Employee Whistleblowing and Raising Concerns in an
Organizational Learning Culture–Elusive and Laudable?” (2016) 5:1 Int J Health
Policy Manag 67 at 67.
39. Miriam Shuman, “Medical Whistle-Blower Protection Lacking” 2008 CMAJ
178 (12) 1529; Elise von Scheel, “‘A Tissue Paper Shield’: Expert Slams Canada’s Lack
of Protections for Whistleblowers”, CBC News (16 November 2019), online: <https://
www.cbc.ca/news/politics/whistleblower-trump-canada-laws-1.5360774>.
40. For example, in Ontario, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990,
c O.1, s 50, includes whistleblower protection for workers who report on work-
place safety as opposed to public health. See also: Public Interest Disclosure
(Whistleblower Protection) Act, SA 2012, c P-39.5; The Public Interest Disclosure Act,
SS 2011, c P-38.1.
41. CCSM c P217 [Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act]; Public
Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Regulation, Man Reg 64/2007.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International