Wrongdoing Disclosures Under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
Under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), the Auditor General of Canada can only:
- Deal with disclosures of wrongdoing from current federal public sector employees (federal public servants) about the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.
The PSDPA gives federal public servants and members of the public a secure and confidential process for disclosing serious wrongdoing in the federal public sector, as well as protection from acts of reprisal. For information about the PSDPA and how to report wrongdoing, we invite you to consult the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (OPSIC), which handles complaints from federal public servants and members of the public and also has the authority to deal with reprisal complaints from current and former federal public servants. For additional resources about the PSDPA, please visit the Treasury Board Secretariat website.
The Mandate of the Auditor General of Canada Under the PSDPA
Under section 14 of the PSDPA, the Auditor General of Canada has the authority to receive disclosures of wrongdoing from current federal public servants about OPSIC. The Auditor General of Canada can choose to investigate or not. The purpose of these investigations is to recommend corrective action to the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada. The Auditor General of Canada is required to report founded cases of wrongdoing to Parliament.
Under the PSDPA, the Auditor General of Canada cannot:
- Deal with disclosures of wrongdoing that concern other federal organizations, or any provincial, territorial, and municipal organizations,
- Deal with disclosures of wrongdoing from former federal public servants or members of the public,
- Deal with reprisal complaints, or
- Act as a court of law to review the decisions rendered by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.
Deciding to Make a Disclosure
Before deciding to submit a disclosure of wrongdoing to the Auditor General of Canada under section 14 of the PSDPA, the following criteria must be met:
1. You are a current federal public servant.
AND
2. Your disclosure is about the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.
If your complaint is about another Canadian federal organization, please consult the OPSIC website.