Voters should make stronger protection for whistleblowing bureaucrats an election issue, a group of advocates said Thursday.

With MPs positioning themselves for a possible spring election, the advocates said it's important the federal parties take up their cause.

They say a federal law provides no protection for bureaucrats who see corruption or misspending in the government and argue that those who report problems are ostracized and punished at work, ruining careers.

"It's not even a fair attempt at a working system," said David Hutton, head of FAIR, the Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform, at a press conference in Ottawa.

"This must be an election issue," he said.

Hutton pointed to former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet, the federal watchdog appointed to follow up on whistleblower's complaints but who investigated only seven out of 228 complaints received during her term.

Ouimet famously dismissed a complaint by veteran Sean Bruyea, whose private medical files were accessed thousands of times by Veterans Affairs officials. Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn eventually apologized to Bruyea. Ouimet quit in October, amid an investigation by federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser.

Duff Conacher, coordinator of Democracy Watch, says the accountability issue is one that could be either a danger or an opportunity. He says the current government rose to power on a promise of cleaning up government because of voter anger at the federal Liberals, who were in the midst of the sponsorship scandal.

"It's a danger to the ruling party if they don't do anything to respond but choose a new commissioner. And it's an opportunity," Conacher said, arguing other parties who take up the cause could steal votes from the governing Tories.

"The Accountability Act was the reason the Conservatives got elected in 2006 ... If they drop the ball on this one, that's a danger for them."

And some say it's actually in the government's self-interest to strengthen protection for whistleblowers. "Any government that doesn't address the problems now, kind of does so at their peril," says Ian Bron of the group Canadians for Accountability. He says until the laws are changed, he can't advise whistleblowers to go to the integrity commissioner's office — and that leaves public servants with no other choice but to go to the media. "This isn't the best way to blow the whistle, by any means, but if the government provides no safe way for people to do so ... they have nobody but themselves to blame when the story explodes across newspapers."

With files from Karina Roman