Health-care worker whistleblower protection coming to Sask.

The province is introducing whistleblower legislation to protect health-care workers more than a year after it was initially promised.

In a media release Thursday, the province outlined its new Publicly-funded Health Entity Public Interest Disclosure Act. It ensures that employees of publicly funded health bodies, namely the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, can blow the whistle on potential wrongdoing in the workplace without facing reprisals.

Examples of concerning situations provided by the government include behaviour that contravenes federal or provincial acts or regulations, gross mismanagement of public funds, or circumstances that create danger to life, health, safety or the environment.

“We support high standards of professional values and ethics in our workplaces, and want the public to have confidence in our health system organizations,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said in the release. “It is important for people to feel they can safely raise concerns at work or refuse to participate in something they think may be wrong.”

The bill also contains language that would extend the same protections to other health organizations through regulation.

Whistleblower protections were initially promised by the previous health minister, Jim Reiter, in November of 2019. At the time, he had stated his hope to introduce a bill in the spring of 2020.