Sask. NDP claims gov’t proposes ‘snitch line’ for health care workers

The Saskatchewan NDP says a new SHA tender creates “snitch line” for health workers, ignoring safety concerns. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

The Saskatchewan NDP claims the provincial government has proposed a “snitch line” for health care workers to voice their concerns about internal working conditions.

The claim refers to a Request for Proposals (RFP) posted by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) exploring options to acquire an Anonymous Reporting Mechanism.

The request seeks out proposals from vendors to provide a service that people can use to submit reports of health care employees and others who are suspected of violating SHA policies, codes of conduct or conflict of interest rules.

NDP MLA Meara Conway said the proposal fails to address the safety and workplace concerns frontline health care workers deal with on a daily basis.

“While workers provide health care against all odds in overrun hospitals, this government and their loyal leadership are making quiet plans to launch, and let’s be very clear about what this is, a snitch line,” Conway told media on Wednesday.

“This is a heavy-handed tool and I’m sure that the hope is that it will be used to silence health care workers who speak out about unsafe conditions at work. It would seem this proposal flies directly in the face of existing whistleblower protections, which exists to protect health care workers.”

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The request was initially posted in January 2025 and was reposted this year after SHA received no vendor submissions that met its requirements through its initial procurement process, according to the SHA, which confirmed the RFP posting.

“Anonymous reporting is a widely used best practice across Canadian health systems and major employers, and it is intended to ensure staff have a safe reporting option to raise concerns without fear of reprisal, particularly when they may not feel comfortable coming forward through other channels,” the SHA’s statement read, referring to a report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The statement added that the health organization is committed to providing safe care environments and respectful workplaces for patients, families and health-care teams.

“As an organization of more than 45,000 employees and approximately 3,000 physicians, we continue to look at approaches that strengthen and support transparency and accountability,” it stated.

“The SHA currently has a Request for Proposals (RFP) publicly posted to explore an anonymous reporting mechanism for serious concerns such as fraud, conflicts of interest, or other wrongdoing.”

The SHA also mentioned the proposed reporting mechanism supports the province’s Publicly-funded Health Entity Public Interest Disclosure Act.

CTV News has reached out to the Ministry of Health for comment and is awaiting a response.