Fair decision-making for fair outcomes: A review of the whistleblowing process for DND employees

This report is the third part of a review of the DND’s internal complaints processes. The purpose of this part was to determine whether the DND’s internal whistleblowing process is properly designed to produce fair outcomes for our constituents. The focus of our analysis is on compliance with legislation, process design, and incorporation of procedural fairness principles into policy. Our hope is that the DND’s new process designs will allow for the consistent application of policy and procedural fairness protections at all levels of decision-making.

Progress report on the status of recommendations

April 2026

•  3 recommendations made
•  3 recommendations accepted
•  1 recommendation implemented
•   1 recommendations partially implemented
•  1 recommendation not implemented

Progress report definitions

Recommendation 1

The DND review its policy framework for whistleblowing to identify an alternate decision-maker in the event that a complaint is filed within the ADM(RS)’s reporting chain.

Recommendation 1 status:  not implemented

Following consultations with other federal organizations, the DND had concluded that establishing an alternate process to address potential internal disclosures of wrongdoing within the ADM(RS)’s reporting chain was unnecessary, as their staff have the option of submitting complaints to the Public Service Integrity Commissioner. ADM(RS) advised that no further work will be done on this recommendation. As the DND has taken steps to ensure ADM(RS) employees are aware of the alternate option, the Ombudsman will not be following up further.

Recommendation 2

The DND review its policy framework for whistleblowing to clearly identify measures or mitigating strategies to address lengthy or untimely delays in the administration of the process.

Recommendation 2 status:  implemented

The DND has identified and begun implementing measures and mitigation strategies to address delays in the whistleblowing process, including setting defined service standards and updating internal standard operating procedures (SOP) and templates. SOPs are in development and scheduled for completion by March 31, 2026, while updated templates have already been implemented.

Recommendation 3

The DND continue the manual cleanup of its files and review its case management procedures and practices for whistleblowing to ensure logical and consistent data collection and capture. As part of this review, we recommend that the DND identify dedicated resources for quality assurance and the maintenance of case-management tools.

Recommendation 3 status:  partially implemented

The DND has continued the manual cleanup of its files and is exploring options to replace its current case-management system. In addition, the DND has identified a dedicated resource for quality assurance and the maintenance of case-management tools. These are positive steps, and we will revisit the recommendation in our next follow-up to ensure that they have the desired effect of ensuring logical and consistent data collection and capture.