Broadly speaking, a whistleblower is an individual who reports illegal or unethical actions by individuals or organizations. Such actions could include financial fraud, an abuse of power, or incidents that pose a threat to public health and safety.
Mr. James Smith was a policy advisor working for the Health Care Authority of Canada (henceforth referred to as HCAC), tasked with heading the group that oversees the dispersal of costly medicine. Mr. Smith had worked at HCAC for 5 years and had gained a reputation for being tough but fair, always prioritizing the interests of Canadian citizens.
Last year, HCAC undertook major structural changes within their upper level management team. As a result, the corporate culture became drastically different. Having spurned overtures from other pharmaceutical companies and hospitals in the past, the new management team now accepted trips, gifts, rewards and other favours from them with the hope of receiving additional financing from the HCAC.
James Smith was not comfortable with the extensive and overt lobbying to the HCAC that he witnessed. He attempted to address his concerns directly to the new management team regarding these lobbying practices, biased competition and immoral trading of favours (quid pro quo) that he had witnessed.
James Smith’s attempt to stop these perceived wrongdoings directly with the new management team turned into a futile endeavour to rectify the situation. It was met with overwhelming anger and character attacks, with a clear objective of dismissal. With his efforts of an open dialogue with the management team in vain, James decided to draft a formal whistleblower complaint in the form of a formal report which itemized the serious improprieties that he had been privy to.
James Smith submitted his report to the Canadian government, as well as the national news media outlets. As a result, the entire new management team were relieved of their duties. A criminal investigation commenced and is ongoing.
Relevant Evidence:
- Internal reports
- Financial documents
- Sales documents
- Electronic evidence (email, text messages, etc.)