Peter Bryce Prize for Whistleblowing
The Peter Bryce Prize is awarded annually by the Centre for Free Expression to recognize and honour individuals who serve the greater good by courageously speaking up about wrongdoing or abuses of public trust in Canada or by Canadians or Canadian organizations.
The prize is named after Dr. Peter H. Bryce, an early Canadian whistleblower who in 1907, spoke up about appalling public health conditions in residential schools.
Recipients of the Peter Bryce Prize will receive a $10,000 award made possible by the generosity of the Zita and Mark Bernstein Family Foundation.
Nominations for the Prize can be made by any member of the public. The link to the nomination form can be found below. This year's deadliine is February 29, 2024. The winner will be selected by the Peter Bryce Prize Awards Committee. If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Ange Holmes, Coordinator, Centre for Free Expression: ange.holmes@torontomu.ca
List of Recipients
2023
Ross Alderson - 2023 Peter Bryce Prize recipient
Ross Alderson, former director of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation's anti-money laundering office, was awarded 2023 Peter Bryce Prize.
Alderson is the whistleblower behind the public inquiry examining how hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal cash flowed through casinos in British Columbia. In the face of continued inaction by the relevant authorities, Ross raised concerns to senior officials in the BC government, and ultimately went to the media with evidence of both criminal money laundering and government inaction.
Watch the full video of the award presentation
2022
Janet Merlo - 2022 Peter Bryce Prize recipient
Former RCMP Constable Janet Merlo was awarded 2022 Peter Bryce Prize that honours individuals who serve the greater good by courageously speaking up about wrongdoing and abuses of public trust.
Janet Merlo worked in the RCMP for nearly 20 years, but in 2010 the harassment and bullying she experienced finally forced her to go on medical leave. In 2012 she filed a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP which was joined by more than 3,000 other women who had suffered similar treatment. The following year she published a book "No One To Tell: Breaking My Silence on Life in the RCMP " The settlement in 2016, forced the Government of Canada to pay out more than $125 million to more than 2,300 women who faced discrimination, harassment, bullying and even sexual assault during their time as RCMP officers.
Former Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache released the final report on the claims process titled Broken Lives, Broken Dreams: The Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment On Women in the RCMP. The report made clear that fundamental change is needed to rid the RCMP of a systemic toxic culture that tolerates hateful, sexist, and homophobic attitudes.
Watch the full video of the award presentation
2021
Dr. John O’Connor - 2021 Peter Bryce Prize recipient
Alberta physician John O’Connor was awarded 2021 Peter Bryce Prize that honours individuals who serve the greater good by courageously speaking up about wrongdoing and abuses of public trust.
His reports, starting in 2006, of an unexpected number of cancers and other health problems among the residents of the remote northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan were rebuffed by authorities and led to an ongoing fifteen year struggle for the health rights of this largely Indigenous community and others downstream from the Alberta oil sands.
Awards Committee
Sandy Boucher, Principal and lead of corporate investigations for Grant Thornton LLP, one of Canada's top accounting and business advisory firms;
Michèle Brill-Edwards, Pediatrician & Clinical Pharmacologist, former Canadian whistleblower;
Ian Bron, a former whistleblower who as served as a naval officer, educator, federal government regulator, and program evaluation team leader, and is currently a PhD candidate at Carleton University, studying whistleblowing in Westminster governments;
David Hutton, the former Executive Director of Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR) and one of the leading experts on whistleblower protection in Canada;
Peter Jacobsen, Partner of WeirFoulds LLP with over 40 years of experience in practice as a litigator and provider of legal advice in diverse sectors, notably in media;
Anna Myers, Executive Director, Whistleblowing International Network;
Amélie Perron, Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa and whistleblowing researcher;
Edgar Schmidt, former General Counsel in the Department of Justice Canada and former Canadian whistleblower;
David Yazbeck, Director-National Labour Relations, Professional Institute for the Public Service of Canada, expert in whistleblower protection law.