Ottawa paper’s series on whistleblowers nominated for award

An Ottawa Citizen series focused on mental stress affecting whistleblowers has been nominated for the first-ever Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting.

Matthew Pearson of the Citizen writes, “Published in November, the stories by reporter Don Butler highlighted the emotional, financial and often career-ending costs most people pay when they make the fateful decision to speak out.

“As Butler wrote: ‘The consequences can be dire and long-lasting. Loss of job and profession is virtually a given. So is retaliation, particularly for those who expose systemic wrongdoing.’

“The series included profiles of two former Department of Foreign Affairs workers who both lost their jobs and faced years of mental anguish and isolation after blowing the whistle on lax or corrupt practices and massive overspending on diplomatic facilities abroad.

“‘As time went on, it became a very lonely, hard journey. Life became very small,’ whistleblower Joanna Gualtieri told Butler. ‘I was a broken person.'”

Read more here.