A Canadian university professor has expressed dismay at his cash-strapped college creating a ‘whistleblower hotline’ – and paying a big accountancy firm to manage it.

Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, launched the anonymous phone line earlier this year, encouraging any staff and students with concerns about policy violations, research issues or behavioral problems to report them.

But Mark Mercer, a professor of philosophy at the university, said he was troubled by the idea that issues could be escalated rather than discussed face-to-face.

He also criticized the university for going ‘all out’ with the initiative, while telling staff members that they need to reduce spending due to financial challenges.

He told the website True North he was concerned about the impact ‘on the culture of the institution’, warning that people could define ‘unacceptable behavior’ as anything that they don’t like.

‘I think the effect of the university promoting this is to make us look like we’re not a collegial place,’ he told the website.

Professor Mark Mercer, who teaches philosophy at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, said he was concerned about the impact of the hotline

The hotline is managed by the accountancy firm Grant Thornton

‘We’re not a place where when people disagree, they either have critical discussions with each other or ignore each other.

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‘Now we go to an authority as a way of resolving these things.’

Mercer said that the hotline was part of the wider move to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

‘One of the goals is something like comfort on campus for people from historically marginalized groups,’ he said.

‘And the means is to involve authorities and to level sanctions, to make people afraid to say or do things that are taken by the powers to be as productive to uncomfortability.’

Saint Mary’s University defended its introduction of the whistleblower hotline

The university defended the introduction of the hotline – but did not address the cost.

The university told True North that the hotline ‘provides a mechanism for university members to confidentially and/or anonymously disclose concerns.’

The hotline will be available to all, they said.

‘The safe disclosure policy applies to all employees, students, volunteers, contractors and suppliers of Saint Mary’s, and works in tandem with our other codes and policies on conduct, such as Research Policies, the Code of Student Conduct Policy, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Policy and others.’