OTTAWA — The federal whistleblower watchdog is refusing to publicly release a report that shows how many cases it bungled in its 3 1/2 years in office, saying it is inappropriate to do so during a federal election campaign.

To help clean up its image, the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner hired an independent firm, Deloitte, to review 221 complaints of wrongdoing it received. Late last month, Deloitte presented its findings on how many cases had been closed without cause and how many now warranted further investigation.

On Monday, a group of civil rights and social justice organizations led by Democracy Watch, called on Mario Dion, the interim commissioner, to release the findings of the report, which he had pledged to make public.

"Keeping report secrets about actions and decisions since the last election denies voters the right to know the full record before they vote," Duff Conacher, the co-ordinator of Democracy Watch, told Postmedia News.

Dion hired Deloitte after Auditor General Sheila Fraser slammed the former public-sector integrity commissioner, Christiane Ouimet, for failing to investigate the overwhelming majority of cases that landed on her desk. Only seven of 228 cases of wrongdoing and complaints of reprisals were probed during her tenure, which began in April 2007.

Ouimet abruptly resigned her position last October — just before Fraser tabled her report — and received a $400,000 severance package from the Conservative government.

Dion wasn't in the office on Monday; he took the day off and was unavailable for comment.

A spokeswoman for the office, Edith Lachapelle, said the office would make the report public after the federal election is over.

"We abstain from releasing information so we are not seen as influencing any type of discussions throughout the election campaign," she said, adding that such action was common practice throughout the government.

But Conacher suggested that standard is wrong.

"It's not just the record of the government," he said, noting that MPs who failed to take note of Ouimet's inaction should also be held responsible.

"Committees reviewed Christiane Ouimet's annual reports — committees made up of MPs from all parties except the Greens," Conacher added. "So it is (the fault of) all of them. And voters have a right to know the full record."

Lachapelle said the office is currently reviewing the cases that Deloitte suggested needed follow up. An outside lawyer, Holly Holtman, has been hired to recommend corrective action on those files.

Holtman will contact every individual whose case was flagged for followup to find if they are still interested in having the office investigate.

"Some individuals (may have filed complaints of reprisals) a few years ago, may have long retired and want it all behind them," Lachapelle said, noting even those in still in the public service may have changed jobs, received promotions and also want to move on.

Letters informing public servants of the status of their case are expected to go out as soon as the election is over, Lachapelle said.

Holtman's first priority will be cases of alleged reprisals against whistleblowers.

"Those are actually personal suffering, either they have been demoted or alienated at work, or other scenarios," Lachapelle said. "It's very important that we address those first because those are people's personal lives, day to day, coming into work, that are affected or could be affected."

The decision to hold off on the report's release marks the third time a report on possible government wrongdoing has been blocked during the election.

Last week, the findings of a three-party panel of MPs, along with three former Supreme Court judges, examining sensitive documents detailing the treatment of prisoners handed over to Afghan officials by the Canadian military was delayed.

Fraser also indicated earlier in the week that she couldn't release her final report on G8 and G20 summit spending until after the May 2 vote, even though all parties were demanding its release after draft versions critical of the Harper government were leaked to media.

araj@postmedia.com

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