OTTAWA — The office responsible for overseeing ethics in the federal civil service says Health Canada should pay compensation to one of three Health Canada scientists who was fired last week.

Gerard Lambert should be compensated because he was suffered reprisals for "making a good faith allegation of wrongdoing at Health Canada," wrote Public Service Integrity Officer Edward Keyserlingk in a July 16 letter obtained by The Canadian Press. Lambert was demoted in 2002 after he criticized a new type of drug for beef cattle, fearing it could contribute to antibiotic resistance in humans.

Keyserlingk's letter, addressed to deputy health minister Ian Green, warns that failure to compensate Lambert would "seriously harm the credibility" of legislation intended to protect employees who expose wrongdoing in the work place.

The letter was sent two days after Health Canada fired Lambert and two other scientists, Shiv Chopra and Margaret Haydon.

Health Canada spokesman Ryan Baker would not comment Thursday on whether compensation has been offered, citing confidentiality concerns.

The dismissal letters for the three scientists, also obtained by The Canadian Press, give insubordination as the reason for each dismissal. There is no reference to the employees' actions as whistle-blowers.

In interviews, all three insisted they followed orders in good faith, saying the real reason for dismissal was their outspokenness and their rigour in screening veterinary drugs.

All three scientists were on sick leave when they were fired, and all say their health had been undermined by long-running harassment in the work place.

Keyserlingk's original finding that Lambert should be compensated was delivered on March 21, 2003, but wasn't made public at the time.

It recommended "that appropriate compensation acceptable to him (Lambert) should be provided, for example in the form of an appropriate career-enhancing opportunity."

Instead, Health Canada fired him.

"As you will recall, I found that Dr. Lambert was subject to reprisal for making a good faith allegation of wrongdoing in Health Canada," Keyserlingk wrote in the letter to Green last week.

Keyserlingk noted that he learned of Lambert's firing through the media, although he had asked to be informed by Health Canada once negotiations with the scientist were concluded.

"In the likely event that compensation acceptable to Dr. Lambert was not extended to him before his recent dismissal, I consider it to be unfinished business for both you and I," Keyserlingk told Green.

"Since in the present circumstances the offer of a career-enhancing opportunity is obviously impossible, an available remedy would appear to be a monetary one."

Lambert said in an interview the matter goes back to May 2002 when he opposed a new pharmaceutical product for beef cattle, pellets containing both a hormone and an antibiotic.

Lambert said the pellets had not been tested in live cattle and he was concerned that antibiotic residue could find its way into human food, contributing to antibiotic resistance in people.

He said the product was approved despite his objections. He was later dismissed from his role as team leader in a drug assessment group.

Lambert complained to Keyserlingk's office, saying the department had dismissed him in retaliation for his criticism of the drug. Keyserlingk upheld the complaint.

Pierre Martel, executive director of Public Service Integrity Office, said federal policies clearly require that an employee who brings forward information about possible government wrongdoing should be protected from reprisal.

All three scientists have appealed their firings. They have received support from a number of organizations, including the Council of Canadians, the Sierra Club and the National Farmers Union.