Mr. Crothers’s story is told in The Globe and Mail article, “This WestJet staffer blew the whistle on his employer’s corporate spying. He’s still waiting for someone to say thanks,” by B. Jang and P. Brethour (Oct. 18, 2006, p. A1). Obtain this article. Mr. Crothers was not an accountant, but assume that he held an accounting designation when he discovered the electronic spying activities in the course of his duties. Form two discussion groups, supporting and opposing, to debate the following resolution. Resolved: Melvin Crothers did more harm to himself, and the accounting profession, by blowing the whistle on WestJet, compared to the consequences if he had not reported spying activities.

Whistleblowing has become a key component in corporate and professional codes of ethical conduct. In the CMA Alberta Code of Ethical Conduct (Exhibit 1-13), Article II on the relationship of an accountant to the profession contains a whistleblower provision, as explained further in the Code’s rules section. This section requires accountants to report violations of the Code to the Registrar of CMA
Alberta, except for matters that are trivial or covered by solicitor-client privilege. Unfortunately, whistleblowers often suffer after they disclose information. This was the experience of Melvin Crothers, who blew the whistle on WestJet, which admitted in 2006 that “it had stolen sensitive data on passenger loads by electronically spying on Air Canada’s confidential employee website.”7 Air Canada filed a lawsuit against WestJet in this case and the airlines settled out of court in May 2006. 7 B. Jang and P. Brethour, “This WestJet Staffer Blew the Whistle on His Employer’s Corporate Spying. He’s Still Waiting for Someone to Say Thanks,” The Globe and Mail, October 18, 2006, p. A1.