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It doesn’t pay to be a whistleblower in Canada’s corporate world. Not only are there absolutely no financial incentives in place to reward people for coming forward with incriminating information, but there is also a very real possibility those who shed light on wrongdoing will have to find another job.

Ottawa lawyer Harold Geller advised his client, a mutual fund salesman named Don Andrews, to go to authorities with his belief that a superior had involved them in a pair of schemes that contravened the rules at the large financial services firm where they worked.

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The information led to an investigation that ultimately took Mr. Andrews’ former mentor out of the business. But, with a three-year prohibition for Mr. Andrews, combined with a loss of clients and a reputation hit, he’s out too, according to his lawyer.

“Mr. Andrews is being harshly penalized for doing the right thing,” says Mr. Geller. “There’s no incentive for people who get caught in schemes to come forward and self-report.”