Observations

In the more than two years that have passed since the PSDPA came into force on April 15, 2007, public sector organizations have done a great deal of work to establish their internal disclosure procedures, provide information about the PSDPA to their employees, and in many cases, handle internal disclosures made in accordance with the PSDPA. These essential steps should help increase awareness among public servants that making a disclosure in good faith is an ethical act and their trust that organizations will act with integrity in handling allegations of possible wrongdoing. More broadly, along with the establishment of a new code of conduct by Treasury Board and of internal codes of conduct by federal organizations, these steps aim to entrench public sector values more deeply in government organizations and enrich the public sector’s ethical culture.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to determine clearly the degree to which individual organizations may, through their PSDPA-related efforts, be achieving these goals. Clearly, a count of disclosures does not necessarily correlate with the steps taken by organizations to establish internal disclosure procedures and communicate those procedures to employees. As well, the disclosures reported by organizations account for only a small portion of disclosures made under protection of the Act. Protected disclosures made without invoking the PSDPA include those made to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, those made through procedures established under other Acts of Parliament, as well as those made by public servants to their supervisors, which are dealt with as part of good management.

The disclosures reported here nevertheless provide a useful snapshot of activity under the PSDPA and a measure of whether PSDPA processes are used by employees. Reported activity under the PSDPA, in combination with information about the consequences of disclosures, such as whether they led to corrective measures, also demonstrates whether disclosures are achieving one of the goals of the PSDPA, which is to encourage employees to come forward with information about possible wrongdoing. Disclosure activity in 2008–09 was significant. Every two days, a public servant made a disclosure using his or her organization’s internal disclosure procedures. About every ten days, a federal public sector organization implemented corrective measures as a result of a disclosure. This level of activity is encouraging. While serious wrongdoing is extremely rare in the federal public sector and ethical behaviour is the norm for public servants, internal procedures established under the PSDPA are nevertheless leading to the discovery of wrongdoings and to actions to correct them.

Looking forward, the substantial progress made in the first two years since the implementation of the PSDPA should not lead to complacency. Much work remains to be done.

• The results of the 2008 Public Service Employee Survey^[5] have confirmed the view that many public servants fear reprisal—a concern also raised by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner in her 2008–09 annual report. Though the survey did not ask specifically about disclosing wrongdoing, only 46 per cent of respondents agreed that they could initiate a formal redress process without fear of reprisal. It is clear that earning the trust of employees requires an increased effort by organizations and work focussed on public sector values and ethics.
• There continues to be varying levels of awareness of the Act in different public sector organizations. All public servants, regardless of their position and level, should know how to make a disclosure and how they are protected if they do so, and they should understand that if they have knowledge of possible wrongdoing, making a disclosure in good faith is the right thing to do. Ongoing communication of the basic elements of the PSDPA is therefore necessary, and public sector organizations should embed information about the PSDPA in the essential resource material available to all employees.
• Organizations, and particularly the Senior Officers appointed under the Act, need continued support as they ensure that the requirements of the PSDPA are fully met, especially because the relative infrequency of disclosures means that, except at the largest organizations, few Senior Officers devote all their time to handling PSDPA matters. As it undertakes its new mandate, the OCHRO will maintain its leadership role and continue to assist senior officers when necessary, while respecting the responsibilities of public sector organizations under the PSDPA.

Public sector values are reflected in the day-to-day activities of public sector organizations, from the most basic employee interactions to the most significant decisions of senior leaders. Further, the values of an organization are directly related to its ability to attract and engage employees who are committed to excellence in public service, a fact that will be considered by the Public Service Renewal Committee of Deputy Ministers and the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service. The codes of conduct required under the PSDPA are intended to embody these notions. The public sector-wide code of conduct will describe values in a general way so that they can be applied to all organizations, while organizational codes will translate those values into specific organizational expectations. In this way, it should be easy for employees to see how the high-level values translate into behavioural expectations relevant to their specific organizational mandate and culture.

Once established, these codes of conduct will provide a normative foundation for ethical culture in the federal public sector. They will reflect the values that have long defined public service in Canada and will also provide the public sector with a statement of the values and commitments that must be embodied in public sector work.

Following analysis of the feedback received from employees, organizations, and bargaining agents, the OCHRO anticipates the code of conduct for the federal public sector to be established in 2009–10. The establishment of this code, and the corresponding work organizations perform on their internal codes of conduct, will provide all public sector organizations with an opportunity to engage their employees in discussion about public sector values and the elements that support an ethical organizational culture, which include the following:

• a way to report observed violations without fear of reprisal (the procedures established under the PSDPA);
• a mechanism for employees to seek advice on ethical matters;
• training for all employees on code of conduct and ethics policies;
• a mechanism to discipline employees that violate the code or ethics policies; and
• evaluation of ethical behaviour as a part of regular performance reviews.

Ultimately, values and ethics are not separate functions or responsibilities independent from other aspects of work; they form the foundation of everything we do. Therefore, within its new mandate, the OCHRO remains committed to the promotion of public sector values.