Despite the critical role of whistleblowers in ensuring integrity in university research, they have no formal protection in Canada. With increased corporate influence in publicly-funded research, university administrators seem disinclined to support researchers who stand up for academic integrity.

The federal granting councils are responsible for overseeing the ethical frameworks of universities to ensure that research “meets the highest international standards of excellence”.10 However, the councils’ Integrity in Research and Scholarship policy statement does not include a provision that would protect whistleblowers from retaliation.

In contrast, national regulations in the United States of America recognise the role of the whistleblower as essential for upholding research integrity.  The Whistleblower’s Bill of Rights states: “Institutions have a duty not to tolerate or engage in retaliation against good-faith whistleblowers”.11 The absence of Canadian guidelines for whistleblower protection undermines university research integrity.