Why are whistleblowers being unfairly harrassed?

What is meant by whistleblowing? In it’s simplest description, it means blowing a whistle to warn people of an impending danger, such as a train whistle. The term whistleblower also derives from the practice of English cops who would blow their whistle when they noticed the commission of a crime. The blowing of the whistle would alert both law enforcement officers and the general public of danger. But the word, whistleblowing in modern use means someone who is an employee, former employee, or member of an organization, especially a business or government agency, who reports misconduct to the public or to entities that have the power and presumed willingness to take corrective action but haven’t taken such action. It can include such incidences as someone stealing from the firm or government or some other wrongdoing or warning the people of some impending calamity about to take place or is taking place.

There is nothing wrong with whistleblowing providing that it is done under an honest belief and not done simply to make trouble for whomever the complaint is about. Generally, the misconduct complained about is a violation of a law, rule, or a regulation of business entities or government agencies and it can also involve incidents of stupidity resulting in waste of materials or loss of revenue or the creation of danger to everyone’s welbeing. There is no limit as to grounds for whistleblowing.

One of the most publicized whistleblowing cases involved Jeffrey Wigand, who exposed the Big Tobacco scandal, revealing that executives of the companies knew that cigarettes were addictive while approving the addition of known carcinogenic ingredients to the cigarettes. He was the president of Research and Development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky which was working on the development of safer cigarettes. He became known as a whistleblower when, on the CBS news program 60 Minutes, he exposed his company's practice of "impact boosting" — intentionally manipulating the effect of nicotine in cigarettes. Wigand claimed that he was subsequently harassed and received anonymous death threats.

Another famous whistleblower is Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, who exposed irregularities at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's FBI Crime Lab. He investigated, uncovered and reported scientific misconduct which forced the FBI crime lab to agree to forty major reforms, including undergoing an accreditation process. During this period, Whitehurst was forced to defend himself from retaliation by the FBI by hiring Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in defending whistleblowers.

While working at the University of Toronto affiliated Hospital for Sick Children (HSC), Dr. Nancy Olivieri signed a contract to test a new drug for the pharmaceutical company Apotex. Upon discovering that some of her child subjects were experiencing high levels of iron toxicity that could lead to life-threatening liver cirrhosis, Olivieri immediately stopped the tests and insisted that the health risks be communicated to her patients’ parents. Citing the contract’s non-disclosure clause, Apotex not only refused to communicate the risks, but also halted all further drug trials at the HSC, confiscated the trial medicine, fired Olivieri from the study, and threatened her with litigation if she divulged any information to her patients.

Olivieri began receiving anonymous threatening letters that were later proven to have been sent by a co-worker who was a recipient of Apotex funding. Anonymous letters containing unfounded allegations against Olivieri were also sent to the media and the HSC disciplinary committee. Apotex, as well as some hospital and University administrators, later used these allegations as a basis to level charges against Olivieri. Apotex also used these allegations in attempts to discredit Olivieri.

Six years after the first signs of problems with the drug were detected, an Independent Committee of Inquiry exonerated Olivieri of all allegations of misconduct. The report was explicitly critical of the University and the HSC for failing to protect Olivieri’s academic freedom. At the time Olivieri came under attack, the University was in negotiations with Apotex over a $20 million building investment. The credibility of Opotex as a pharmaceutical firm subsequently went down the toilet where it belonged.

Dr. John O'Connor first suspected something was wrong a few years ago after discovering a rare form of cancer in a small northern Alberta community of 1,200 people. He recognized the illness, since it was the same one that had claimed the life of his father in Ireland more than 15 years earlier. However, he had never expected to see it again and was alarmed to find it in at least five patients in his small community. He said that the problem was a direct result of the operations to extract oil from the tarsands a few hundred kilometers upstream from his community.

While a series of government studies have concluded there’s no need to be alarmed about potential toxins and carcinogens spilling into the Athabasca River from oilsands operations and pulp mills, a new independent report released in November 2007 has discovered serious flaws with the government research and appears to confirm some of O’Connor’s greatest fears.

Health Canada filed a complaint against the doctor to the health authorities that licences doctors after O'Connor wrote an open letter to a Halifax newspaper last December, urging Atlantic Canadians not to move out west. In the letter he said he was moving to Nova Scotia, describing life in Fort McMurray as "intolerable," and accusing the Alberta government of downplaying health risks. The family physician never anticipated that speaking out about his concerns would land him in a career-threatening struggle against the federal government with his medical licence on the line.

Some people see whistleblowers as selfless martyrs for public interest and organizational accountability; others view them as snitches" (slang), solely for the purpose of pursuing personal glory and fame.

Persecution of whistleblowers has become a serious issue in many parts of the world. Although whistleblowers are often protected under law from employer retaliation, there have been many cases where punishment for whistleblowing has occurred, such as termination, suspension, demotion, wage garnishment, and/or harsh mistreatment by other employees. There aren’t any known instances of whistleblowers in China because if anyone in that country dares to report irregular/unlawful conducts of government officials or employees of state firms, he or she will be punished openly and swiftly. The fear for the loss of jobs and family, imprisonment and/or even death will effectively stifle any dissents.

The Liberal government in Canada introduced Bill C-25 – the Disclosure Protection legislation commonly known as "whistleblower" legislation – in March 2004. The law is intended to protect people who speak out about problems in the government's bureaucracy. There is legislation in other countries that protect whistleblowers also.

There is unquestionably a strong need for whistleblowers and legislation that protects them from any form of retaliation. Those who retaliate against legitimate whistleblowers in any form whatsoever should be punished, no matter how far up the chain of command they are. Their punishment should either be suspension, demotion, or outright dismissal from whatever position they have.