Whistleblowers: keep up the good work

What are the two biggest media stories in recent weeks in Quebec?

I’ll summarize it for you in a few words: Bedford school and Cité-des-Prairies.

The first scandal involves 11 teachers at a school in Côte-des-Neiges, who for years terrorized their colleagues and the children whose education they were supposed to provide.

The other concerns nine educators from a youth center, who had sexual relations with at least five adolescents under their responsibility.

The link between these two cases?

They could never have been brought to light without the courage of outraged citizens. Ordinary people, who agreed to take risks, to transmit disturbing information to journalists.

Those who are commonly called “whistleblowers”.

All these citizens who dare to speak out – teachers, educators, civil servants, police officers, nurses, blue-collar workers, senior executives – are at the origin of many of the biggest scoops produced by the media in Quebec and elsewhere, year after year.

Without these “confidential sources”, ministries, school service centers and other state corporations could continue to sell their salad, a beautiful bright green, without ever having to answer pesky questions.

There wouldn’t be any problems!

It was journalist Valérie Lebeuf, from Cogeco Media, who exposed the Bedford school scandal in May 2023. She collected testimonies from eight teachers or ex-teachers. They told him about the reign of fear established by a group of teachers forming a dominant clan¹.

These employees would never have been able to testify openly, at the risk of losing their jobs or being prosecuted. The reporter agreed to modify their voices and guarantee their anonymity, which allowed her to put together a sensational report.

Everything came to a head later: after the broadcast of this topo, the liberal MP Marwah Rizqy asked for – and obtained – an investigation. This led to an explosive report, tabled last month in the National Assembly.

“The Bedford affair” helped to loosen tongues and bring to light other stories of a similar nature. The problems seem so widespread that the Minister of Education dispatched auditors this week to 17 other schools in Quebec, where “breaches of secularism” were allegedly observed.

The Cité-des-Prairies scandal also stems from information provided by confidential sources. People well aware of the horrors that took place with complete impunity within the walls of the Montreal youth center.

These informants allowed my colleagues Katia Gagnon and Caroline Touzin to begin meticulous journalistic work. The shock survey they published on October 24 sparked a political storm, and the beginning of what looks like a collective awareness².

The national director of youth protection left her post immediately. Quebec has promised reforms. All this, once again, thanks to the contribution of sources whose identity was protected from start to finish.

Another whistleblower story bounced back into the news this week. The starting point of this column, to be honest.

I’m talking here about a scoop from journalist Daniel Leblanc, from -, the same one who brought the sponsorship scandal to light thanks to his famous anonymous source called “Ma chouette”, at the turn of the millennium. Without doubt Canada’s biggest political scandal in recent decades.

Leblanc broadcast a report at the end of October on major flaws at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). A case of data leaks and fraudulent tax slips, which has so far cost the public treasury $6 million.

The ARC, long criticized for its opacity, did not say much to fuel the journalist’s investigation. But what we learned on Thursday is that the Agency launched a veritable “witch hunt” to find out who, among its employees, had dared to speak to journalists³.

In summary: too bad for taxpayers who will still have to pay millions. What matters is WHO opened the door internally. Reputation before accountability.

This reaction from the ARC is aberrant, but not surprising.

Source hunting is a national sport when embarrassing information leaks to the media. Many organizations prefer to focus their efforts on finding the messenger – and shooting him – rather than looking in the mirror.

Daniel Leblanc’s confidential sources are undoubtedly very nervous today. This is completely understandable. It takes a good dose of courage to dare to denounce an unacceptable situation. Even more so when it concerns his employer.

So I would like to reiterate this, to anyone considering reporting issues they see: you can have confidence. You have to be careful, of course, but there are a whole series of mechanisms to communicate information confidentially.

Very easy to use secure email and messaging services, such as the Signal application, exist. There are also the good old meetings in person, out of sight. Or again: the famous “brown envelopes”, these paper documents that can be transmitted without leaving a trace.

Also note that “confidential sources” are known to journalists. We can guarantee their anonymity for various well-established reasons. For example: if they are not authorized to speak publicly about an issue or if their job could be threatened.

But we know who we are talking to.

We agree to protect the identity of certain sources if the public interest warrants it. It is a form of contract.

Hundreds of scandals could never have been brought to light without this clearly established relationship of trust. A relationship well tested over time.

It’s not always easy though.

Journalists are often taken to task for revealing the identity of their interlocutors, through all kinds of maneuvers, such as lawsuits. But the protection of sources was once again confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada, in 2019, in a case which involved investigative journalist Marie-Maude Denis⁴.

In short, I am sending this message to all citizens who want things to happen: do not underestimate the impact of information transmitted to a journalist, even if it may seem trivial at first glance. Listen to your instinct. Your values.

Whistleblowers of all kinds, keep up the good work!

1. Listen to the show segment Quebec now from 98.5 FM “Investigation: toxic climate in a primary school”

2. Read the investigation “Montréal: sex scandal at the Cité-des-Prairies rehabilitation center”

3. Read the - article “In embarrassment, the Canada Revenue Agency launches a “source hunt””

4. Read the article “Marie-Maude Denis will not have to reveal her sources for the moment”