Justice Department files on landmark whistleblower case (photo-simulation) Access to information requests have revealed that the Justice Department's files on the Joanna Gualtieri whistleblower case total 633 inches – more than 52 feet. If stacked on top of each other they stand taller than a 5-storey building. The photograph shows David Hutton, Executive Director of the whistleblower organization FAIR, beside a (simulated) stack of bankers boxes approximately 50 feet tall, representing the Justice Department's files on this case, which was ten years old this week.

OTTAWA – NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) marked the 10th anniversary of Joanna Gualtieri’s case by calling for an end to government stalling in resolving whistleblowers’ cases. 

“As an MP for a riding with a large number of public servants, I’ve come across an alarmingly high number of harassment cases against whistleblowers” said Dewar.  “Joanna’s case indicates the shortcomings of whistleblower protection in Canada – and the government’s betrayal of a promise made to hardworking public servants”.

In 1992 Ms. Gualtieri uncovered financial waste by the Department of Foreign Affairs.  Her allegations were supported by reports from the Inspector General and the Auditor General of Canada.  After coming forward, she experienced harassment and was given a dead-end job.  Leaving her job due to damage caused to her health by the experience, she sued her former bosses for harassment. Her case has been dragging in the courts for ten years now with no end in sight.

“We recently learned just how extensive are the Justice Department’s files on this landmark case: if we stack all the files on top of each other we have a column taller than a 5-storey building” said David Hutton, the Executive Director for FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform).  “Every chapter in these files represents another month of Ms. Gualtieri’s life as a captive in this runaway legal process”.

Dewar is calling on the government to stop stalling whistleblower cases, deal with the inventory of protracted civil litigation cases involving whistleblowers, and strengthen the whistleblower protection laws of this country.

“During the previous election Mr. Harper used Ms. Gualtieri’s case to validate its promise for ‘ironclad protection’ for whistleblowers” said Dewar. “Now in power, his government broke its promise to hardworking public servants and continues the same tactics that have been used against Ms. Gualtieri for 10 years.  It’s time to end stalling on whistleblowers’ cases”.

For an electronic version of the above image simulating the case files, please contact :

David Hutton, Executive Director
Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform
Tel: 613-567-1511
Email: david@fairwhistleblower.ca
Web: http://fairwhistleblower.ca