Winnipeg councillor wants city workers to feel safe as whistleblowers

A Winnipeg city councillor will introduce a motion this week to formalize whistleblower protection within the municipal government, saying he wants city employees to feel safe coming forward if they believe something isn't right at work.

St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard says the city's current human resources policy states that employers should not punish whistleblowers for coming forward with information.

"If I was the whistleblower, the words 'my employer should not' would definitely not give me the assurance that I need, you know, to really know that my job is safe if I come forward with that information," he said.

Allard, who will put forward his motion at Wednesday's council meeting, said he has spoken to city workers who have concerns but don't feel safe speaking up.

"You could feel, you know, the anxiety and the situation he was in," Allard said of one employee.

"He felt he had information that he would like to share and didn't seem to have the assurance that he'd be safe if he did come forward with that information."

Allard said he also wants to beef up the city's fraud line.