Significant Developments In Whistleblower Payouts And Protections Continue To Attract Attention

Whistleblower protections and significant bounties paid to whistleblowers in the U.S. continue to make headlines, just as issuers in Canada brace for the impact of the OSC's rollout of its whistleblower program in the coming weeks. Stateside, the SEC announced yet another major award, this time in the amount of $5-million. That announcement followed on the heels of a separate whistleblower-related development at the American securities regulator, as the SEC said that it would award another whistleblower $3.5-million – a reversal of its earlier decision to deny an award to that same whistleblower. Meanwhile, in Ontario, Transparency International Canada (TI Canada) held its annual Day of Dialogue last week, at which whistleblowing issues were a focus. The Day of Dialogue was well-timed given TI Canada's recent successful intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the World Bank Group v. Wallace case, in which TI Canada advocated for whistleblower protections.