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The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is seeking to create an anonymous system that would allow employees to report wrongdoing.
On Jan. 13, the SHA posted a request for proposals (RFP), inviting vendors to apply for an opportunity to create an ‘Anonymous Reporting Mechanism’, meant to flag suspected instances of conflict of interest as well as violations of SHA policy and codes of conduct.
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On Wednesday, NDP health critic Meara Conway said the proposed service could be used as a tool to stifle whistleblowers and said it had the potential to be weaponized against health care workers.
“Why do we need an anonymous reporting mechanism? We have policies in place for when people are doing something they shouldn’t be doing in their workplace, so what is this about?” Conway said at a media event.
“It’s slimy. It’s very clearly, in our view, a snitch line and the workers that I’ve run this by feel the same.”
The requested proposal is on the SaskTenders website. It was posted on Jan. 13, 2026. (SaskTenders website/Screenshot)
Conway said this measure was done without consultation with workers. The opposition health critic also suggested that the SHA introduced this RFP as a direct response to an open letter penned by health care workers at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital who called for the SHA to take action about recent complaints of hospital violence.
On Wednesday afternoon, the SHA denied such claims in an emailed statement, saying it had originally posted an RFP for the reporting mechanism in January of last year, but it took it down after not finding a vendor submission that met the SHA’s requirements.
The health authority also stated that the proposed service could be used to report suspected fraud.
“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 statement read.
“A 2024 report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners found that organizations with reporting mechanisms were nearly twice as likely to detect fraud via tip as organizations without, illustrating the important role that reporting mechanisms play in detecting fraud. (Source: Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, Page 23).”
Conway said posting the RFP sends the wrong message at a time when the health care industry faces numerous challenges like staffing, burnout and abuse of workers.
“The last thing that an overworked nurse in an emergency room whose been spat at, who’s working a shift that’s understaffed, needs is to be looking over her shoulder worried that her coworker is going to report her for something,” Conway said.
“I think there are lots of concerns with this kind of approach to discipline in the workplace. It’s why we have open, transparent policies in place to address things that shouldn’t be happening in the workplace. Why do we need this? I think it’s about fear, I think it’s about suspicion and I think it’s about muzzling.”
