Meet Joe Friday
Text Version
My name is Joe Friday and yes, it’s my real name
and I am the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.
When I was appointed, I identified my three priorities as
accessibility, clarity and consistency.
and what to expect when they make the very difficult decision
to come forward with a disclosure of wrongdoing.
We are part of a small group of what are known as agents of Parliament,
often referred to as the federal watchdogs.
We can’t do our job without the independence
that Parliament has granted us.
So under our Act, we have very strict confidentiality provisions
that apply to everyone working within our office.
We also have very important exemptions from
The Access To Information and Privacy Acts
that protect the information and the
identity of people who come forward.
First I’d like say that we understand how difficult it is to come forward,
but we truly believe that coming forward when you witness wrongdoing,
or what you think is wrongdoing, is the right thing to do.
A healthy public service is one in which people feel
confident in coming forward and in which they
can do so without having to fear that they are going to be
retaliated against or reprised against.
I passionately believe in the importance of public service
and of the role of public servants in supporting
the lives of Canadians.