The NWT’s finance minister says amendments to the Public Service Act that would extend whistleblower protection to all GNWT employees are a “huge step forward.”
“These protections provide residents and the government enhanced security by ensuring employees who see wrongdoing can speak up without fear of it affecting their career or resulting in reprisal against them,” Caroline Wawzonek said during a review of the legislation last week.
The GNWT is proposing the creation of a public information disclosure officer who would receive and investigate complaints of wrongdoing, and issue recommendations to address the wrongdoing and prevent it from happening again.
Employees who disclose wrongdoing cannot be threatened with or face disciplinary measures, fines, demotion or dismissal, nor “any measure that adversely affects the employee’s employment or working conditions,” according to the amendments.
The public disclosure officer could only require someone to pay some or all of the costs of a disclosure investigation if they find the disclosure to be “frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith.”
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If the new legislation is approved, an employee would be able to make a disclosure of wrongdoing to their supervisor or the public information disclosure officer within five years of witnessing the event.
The employee may be able to disclose a wrongdoing to the public if it involves imminent risk to life, health or safety of people or the environment. Before doing so, they must get direction from the chief public health officer, chief environmental protection officer, or an appropriate law enforcement agency.
Other proposed amendments to the Public Service Act look to add gender-neutral language, clarify roles and responsibilities, and better explain the collective bargaining process.
If the Public Service Act is amended as recommended, it would also amend some sections of the Aurora College Act, Northwest Territories Power Corporation Act, Public Service Garnishee Act, and Workers’ Compensation Act.
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This legislation isn’t the first recent attempt to alter the Public Service Act.
While these amendments are being proposed by the government, previously a private member’s bill brought by regular MLA Shauna Morgan sought to allow NWT nurses to apply to form their own bargaining unit.
Morgan’s bill passed a second reading in the NWT Legislative Assembly – and was being reviewed by a committee of MLAs – when the committee chose to pause its review in October 2025. The committee said it would instead let the territorial government lead modernization of the act.
