The Richmond Board of Education is creating a policy to allow whistleblowers to make complaints without any repercussions.
The provincial government introduced legislation in 2019 to provide “a safe, legally protected way” for public sector employees to report “serious or systemic issues of wrongdoing.”
The Public Interest Disclosure ACT (PIDA) allows employees to report any issues without repercussions.
“PIDA prohibits people from retaliating against employees who speak up about potential wrongdoing in the public sector,” the ombudsperson’s office noted on their website.
Employees of the Richmond School District will be able to report any wrongdoing they see in their workplaces to a supervisor or designated officer of the school district, or they can report directly to the ombudsperson.
The ombudsperson’s office notes “you do not need to complete any internal process with your organization before contacting the Ombudsperson’s office.”
Any reports made to a supervisor or school district designated officer will be managed by them, not by the ombudsperson’s office.
The Richmond Board of Education policy on whistleblowing will be dealt with at December’s board meeting.
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