Whistleblower Report Held Back Until After Election

The audit was tasked with finding out why the whistleblower watchdog only investigated seven of 228 cases.

The integrity commissioner's office won't release a report looking at how well the much-maligned institution responded to whistleblowers in the federal government until after the election, citing the impact the report might have on the outcome. The office, set up by the Conservative government in 2007 to afford more protection to whistleblowers, has faced heavy scrutiny under its former commissioner, Christiane Ouimet, who didn't investigate the vast majority of cases sent her way – probing only seven of 228 instances of alleged wrongdoing in the public service before stepping down with a $400,000 severance package. Her interim replacement, Mario Dion, ordered the independent audit into his predecessor's term upon taking over. The audit, completed March 31, will be held back until after May 2.