Anonymous whistleblowing plan gets approval from city council
City staff to develop policies and procedures after vote-in-favour Monday
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Despite a recommendation to the contrary, city council has asked administration to develop a whistleblowing policy so staff and councillors can anonymously report alleged wrongdoing at city hall.
Coun. Rebecca Alty says the city doesn't necessarily need a separate software system to implement an anonymous whistleblower function. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
Coun. Adrian Bell first raised the issue last fall, saying he had heard from people during the municipal election that there should be a way for allegations to be leveled without fear of retribution.
After examining the issue, staff recommended not allowing anonymous submissions last month because it could be viewed as a statement of mistrust of administration.
However, on Monday evening council voted 7-1 in favour of staff developing policies for whistleblowing via third-party software that allows anonymity. Allegations submitted would still go to the human resources division for investigation.
At several points it has been noted that because of the small size of city administration, once an investigation begins it may not be difficult to determine who submitted the allegation.
The lone vote against the motion was Coun. Rebecca Alty who earlier in the meeting proposed to amend it to remove the third party software, which staff projected could cost $9,000 per year.
Councillors had been told the main advantage of the software was creating a way for administration to track complaints - making it possible to log when it was submitted and what action has been taken.
Alty suggested it would be easier and cheaper for the city to use its intranet - an internal forum for employees - where a form could be created to allow anonymous submissions.
"Maybe the third party reporting system has more bells and whistles that could be used, from my understanding of the software, it's not like the third-party reporting system analyzes (complaints) to see if it is valid or anything like that," Alty said.
Coun. Shauna Morgan supported Alty's amendment, saying she believes the city doesn't need software but instead must improve the workplace culture so people feel safe raising issues.
"From what I have heard in talking to people, the real need or emphasis is on how the organization deals with complaints and that that come forward," Morgan said.
The amendment failed as it only had three votes in support - including from Coun. Linda Bussey.
Bussey had earlier spoke in support of the original motion, and in the end still voted in favour of it after the amendment failed.
Coun. Rommel Silverio said he hopes after the city has the policies in place it is able to expand to include whistleblowing submissions from the public.
While council has voiced its support for an anonymous system, it doesn't mean it is in place. Staff must still develop the policies and procedures for the system.
Those aspects are expected to return to council in the future for approval.
