SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Whether city staff should be able to report wrongdoing by coworkers anonymously was up for debate at Tuesday's city council meeting.

Deputy mayor Adrian Bell, right, speaks about a proposal to create a whistleblower policy and anonymous complaint system at city hall for staff members during Tuesday's municipal services committee meeting. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

Deputy mayor Adrian Bell raised the idea of a whistleblower policy in the fall, saying he had heard from people during the municipal election campaign who believed there was a need for stronger protection for city employees wanting to bring forward an issue.

City staff drafted a report presented to the city's municipal services committee meeting Tuesday that suggests the best option would be rewriting city policies to reinforce protection of workers who expose problems. The report states city workers are already protected by law from retaliation.

The committee was only exploring the idea and no vote has taken place yet on the issue.

Bell wasn't satisfied by the main recommendation and said the city could do much better regarding a whistleblower policy.

"Take a position as leaders in this type of endeavour," he said.

As an alternate, the report states the city could spend approximately $9,000 on software such as one called Clearview that allow anonymous complaints and make it easier to track how submissions are handled.

However, the staff report suggests that could lead to staff members submitting "frivolous and vexatious" complaints against innocent employees. An anonymous complaint system, the report states, could be viewed as "a statement of mistrust towards management and senior management" of the city and council.

"This could have a significant impact on the corporate culture of the organization," the report states.

Bell pointed out Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Mississauga, Ont. use the system, which suggests they don't view it as a statement of mistrust.

Coun. Rebecca Alty said she doubts employees will get out of control on such a system. hopes employees won't abuse such a system.

"I don't think people will get crazy and start doing anonymous posts that are vexatious. I hope we have a workforce that's a little more mature than that," she said.

The anonymity question split councillors during the debate, although most suggested they'd support the software system when it comes to a vote.

Coun. Niels Konge at first thought the city should go further and allow public complaints, but backed away so the issue could move ahead. He suggested if the system works, a public whistleblower system could be added later. The report suggests adding that function could bring the software cost to $12,000.

Couns. Julian Morse and Shauna Morgan said they didn't feel comfortable with the anonymously submitted complaints, which would still be investigated by city staff.

Morse said he will hold off on a decision until it comes to council. Morgan said if the city improves its policies internally, the software wouldn't be necessary.

The benefit of the software is an ability to track complaints - when they were filed, how they were investigated and to get data on complaints.

During questioning about how complaints are handled now, Marie Couturier, human resources manager, said the city has no tracking mechanism.

"I can't off the top of my head because it varies so much from year to year," she said when asked about the number of complaints handled.

The city had about a dozen "designated conflict officers" trained - roughly half unionized - to act as contacts for people who want to raise issues about their work environment, such as harassment allegations.

She acknowledged there's been no annual retraining or replacing of those who have since left.

That will change this fall when training will be held again and the number of conflict officers will rise to between 15 and 20, she said, with some kind of regular training to follow.

The whistleblower topic is set to go to city council for further discussion in two weeks.