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Support for legal advice - video with transcription

Text version of the video statement

Hello,

Proceedings under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act are meant to be as informal as possible.

Still, you have the right to be assisted by a lawyer if you are participating in an investigation, or if you are considering reporting wrongdoing or making a reprisal complaint.

Our Office may provide up to $1,500 for legal assistance. Under exceptional circumstances, this amount can be up to $3,000.

Discussions you have with the lawyer are protected by solicitor-client privilege.

You may be eligible if you do not already have access to legal advice at no cost to you and if you meet one of the following criteria:

  1. You are considering reporting wrongdoing to our Office. If you are a federal public servant, you could also make a disclosure of wrongdoing to your supervisor or to a designated Senior Officer for internal disclosure in your organization, if you prefer.
  2. You are a federal public servant, and have disclosed wrongdoing, either to our Office, to your supervisor, or to a Senior Officer in your organization. Alternatively, you may have reported wrongdoing during a Parliamentary proceeding or a procedure established under another Act of Parliament, or have been lawfully required to report wrongdoing.
  3. You are a federal public servant considering making a complaint of alleged reprisal taken against you. And
  4. You have been involved in any investigation or proceeding under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. Including if you are the subject of an investigation.

In any of these cases, you must declare that you don’t have any other access to legal advice at no cost to you. If you are a member of a union or association you must clearly explain why you have not asked them for legal support, or show that they will not provide it free of charge.

For further information, read our Policy on the Granting of Funding for Access to Legal Advice Requests.

Access to this funding is discretionary. When applying, it is important that you provide as much relevant information about your situation as possible.

In determining whether to grant funding for legal advice, the Commissioner will consider the public interest and the degree to which you may be affected by your involvement in a proceeding under the Act.

Thanks for your interest in the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.

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