Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service of Canada

 [ Backgrounder ]

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June 19, 2003

OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member of Parliament for Westmount - Ville-Marie, today announced a new Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service of Canada.

"In view of the critical role that the Public Service of Canada plays in serving Canadians and supporting democratic government, a Code of Values and Ethics is an essential foundation for public administration," said Minister Robillard. "I am very proud to be part of this historic step forward."

"This is a significant document, the result of many years of discussion and consultation in the public service," the Minister added. "Public servants themselves have helped to craft this important statement about the proud tradition of public service and its important role in our parliamentary democracy."

The Code sets out the four interwoven families of values by which public servants should be guided in their work and professional conduct:

• Democratic Values: Assisting Ministers, under law, to serve the public interest.
• Professional Values: Serving with competence, excellence, efficiency, objectivity and impartiality.
• Ethical Values: Acting at all times in such a way as to uphold the public trust.
• People Values: Demonstrating respect, fairness and courtesy in their dealings with both citizens and fellow public servants.

The Code includes revised conflict of interest and post-employment measures and provides for transparent decision making about gifts, hospitality and other benefits.

The Code will be a Condition of Employment for public servants. All public servants are responsible for ensuring they comply with the Code in the performance of their duties. Employees who wish to report a breach of the Code can do so in confidence to the Public Service Integrity Officer.

Deputy Ministers and Heads of Agencies are accountable for implementing the Code in their organizations and for ensuring public servants have the help and guidance to follow the spirit and letter of the Code. The Treasury Board Secretariat will monitor Deputy Heads' accountability for applying the Code.

The Code of Values and Ethics for the Public Service of Canada comes into effect on September 1, 2003. This period of time will be used to ensure that public servants are informed of the new Code.

The Code, along with a new Guidance for Deputy Ministers and a Management Accountability Framework for senior public service managers, will help to support an agenda of management excellence in the public service. Guidance for Deputy Ministers and the Management Accountability Framework will be released shortly.

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For more information, contact:

Daniel Grenier
Press Secretary
Office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada
(613) 957-2666

Mario Baril
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090

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Backgrounder

Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service

The Code is made up of four parts: a Statement of Public Service Values and Ethics; Conflict of Interest Measures; Post-Employment Measures; and Avenues of Resolution.

The Code:

• captures the essence of public service in Canada and informs citizens about the values for which public servants stand.
• clarifies for public servants the values and ethics that should guide all their professional activities.
• affirms the importance of public service in Canadian democracy and clarifies its roles and relationships with Ministers.
• makes important linkages with, and provides critical context for, policies on prevention of harassment and internal disclosure of wrongdoing, both of which have a bearing on values and ethics.
• extends post-employment measures to those at the EX minus 01 and minus 02 levels requiring a 12 month period limiting the types of employment former public servants can accept if a new job is directly related to the one they just left.

Accountabilities for striving to maintain and enhance public trust are clear:

• The Code acknowledges that leadership is the single most important influence on the behaviour of public servants. Deputies have specific obligations to both exhibit and embed values and ethics in their organizations.
• Mechanisms must be established for employees to be able to raise and resolve ethical dilemmas and questions about the application of the Code.
• Employees have obligations for their own professional conduct and also to ensure that conflict of interest and post-employment measures are not breached in financial arrangements such as contracting with former public servants.
• The Code features transparent decision-making processes in regards to the acceptance and solicitation of gifts, benefits and hospitality. Public servants are not to accept gifts, benefits and hospitality outside the range of nominal, common courtesy without the written approval of the Deputy Head.

Other significant aspects of the Code:

• The Code will be a condition of employment for public servants.
• There is a new role for the Public Service Integrity Officer to receive and review issues related to breaches of the Code.
• As breaches of the Code will be considered within an expanded definition of wrongdoing under the Internal Disclosure Policy, the Code ensures employees who raise issues about breaches can do so in confidence.
• The Code provides for disciplinary action, up to and including termination, for non-compliance.
• The Code will become part of the core learning requirements for new employees and for managers.

The Public Service of Canada has long discussed the issues of values and ethics. Over the last decade a number of initiatives have sustained the dialogue. The most prominent of these efforts was the Task Force on Values and Ethics, chaired by the late John Tait. The stated aim of its December 1996 report, A Strong Foundation, was "to help the public service to rediscover and understand its basic values and assist the public service to recommit to and act on those values in all of its work."

Since 1999, as Deputy Minister Co-Champions of Values and Ethics in the Public Service of Canada, Janice Cochrane and Scott Serson have led the federal government's ongoing discussions related to the development of a Statement of Principles. In October 2001, after consulting with their Deputy Minister colleagues, and with the support of the Clerk, the Co-Champions launched consultations on a draft Statement of Principles, resulting in a sounding of almost 1,000 public servants across Canada.

During 2002, the Treasury Board Secretariat undertook a parallel process of revising the Conflict of Interest and Post Employment Code for the Public Service. The revisions took place under the direction of an interdepartmental committee, with focus groups held with employees across the country. In late 2002, the two projects were merged to result in a stronger accountability document.

The effective date of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service is September 1, 2003.

Information about the Policy on the Internal Disclosure of Wrongdoing in the Workplace can be found at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TB_851/idicww-diicaft-eng.asp