On Jan. 24, WUSA approved a new whistleblower policy which will “[serve] as a critical tool for protecting individuals who report activities believed to be illegal, dishonest, unethical, or otherwise improper.” The suggestion to create this policy came from third-party auditors who detected such a policy was missing, in separate recommendations from WUSA’s 2022 governance review.
Under this policy, actions including financial fraud or misrepresentation, bullying, physical or sexual harassment, and a breach of internal policies or procedures can all be reported to “the appropriate Manager, the Executive Director, the President, or Human Resources.”
Current and former staff, whether part time or full time, as well as volunteers and Board members, are all invited to “communicate events of serious concerns about the Corporation.”
The report should include a description of the activity, the date the complainant became aware of the activity, the name of the suspected individual, the steps taken before making the complaint (if any), and any evidence or witnesses. Reports can also be made before the event happens if the complainant has “reasonable and justifiable reason” to believe that the event will occur.
As of publication, current staff can access the full policy, whereas former WUSA staff can contact WUSA general manager Suzanne Burdett at sburdett@wusa.ca for a copy.
