A revised set of rules governing the conduct of federal public servants is coming soon and government watchdog Duff Conacher says he is worried that instead of strengthening the rules, the changes will actually weaken them.Mr. Conacher, founder of Democracy Watch, said he is concerned that the updates to the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service may actually relax today’s standards to bring them in line with the codes of conduct for Members of Parliament, Senators, Cabinet ministers and staffers.
“Believe it or not, the least powerful public servant has a higher ethical standard that they have to adhere to than the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Conacher in an interview with Civil Circles last week.
“It’s because Harper, and Martin before him, gutted the rules in the Conflict of Interest Act, and MPs and Senators wrote their own rules, and when they first wrote them in 2004 and 2005 they just put in huge loopholes,” he stated.
The Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service in use today was written in 2003, prior to the current versions of the political codes. The code itself states that the rules should be read “in the context of” the rules set out for ministers.
The public service code lays out the ethical standards civil servants need to uphold, outlines situations that would put a bureaucrat in a conflict of interest, and ensures that someone leaving the public service doesn’t inappropriately benefit from business contacts they had while in government.
“In the public service, how ends are achieved should be as important as the achievements themselves,” reads the current code.
Public servants commit to following the code as a condition of employment, and those who break the rules can be disciplined or fired.
“The lowliest bureaucrat, who only makes decisions to affect a tiny number of things, or maybe doesn’t have decision-making power, has to arrange their affairs in a timely manner that will prevent real, apparent or potential conflicts of interests,” said Mr. Conacher.
Anabel Lindblad, spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, said that the new version of the code is “still under development,” and did not give a target date for implementation, but a source has told Civil Circles that it’s ready to go.
Treasury Board holds consultations both inside the public service, from management and more than 5,000 public servants, and outside, with academics, unions, ethics experts and public sector chief executives, Ms. Lindblad told Civil Circles in an email.
Once finalized, the code must be approved by the Treasury Board Ministers, including President Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.), Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove, Alta.). Then the code heads to Parliament, where it’s tabled for 30 days in the House and the Senate before coming into effect.
Mr. Conacher said conflict of interest rules are one instance where the current code holds public servants to a higher standard than politicians.
The public servants’ code states that, “In carrying out their official duties, public servants should arrange their private affairs in a manner that will prevent real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest from arising.”
“There’s no exemption,” noted Mr. Conacher.”
“You can’t even be in the appearance of a conflict of interest, or in a potential conflict of interest. It’s a very high standard, and it’s a standard that used to exist in the Conflict of Interest Code for Cabinet Ministers,” he said.
The Senate and House’s codes of conduct exempt a Parliamentarian from conflict of interest rules if they are involved in discussing laws with a general application. Conservative Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin recently came under scrutiny after she voted down the NDP’s Climate Change Accountability Act while on the board and owning stock in Alberta company Oilsands Quest Inc.
Last month, Senate Ethics Officer Jean Fournier stated in his decision about the case that Sen. Wallin was not in a conflict of interest because the bill was not specific to Oilsands Quest.
The public servant’s code as it stands obliges civil servants to fill out a confidential report to their deputy minister outlining anything they own that could be a possible source of a real or apparent conflict of interest as do Parliamentarians. For public servants that includes detailing any partnerships, business ventures, outside work and many types of assets, from directly held retirement or education savings to stock in foreign currency.
A revised set of rules governing the conduct of federal public servants is coming soon and government watchdog Duff Conacher says he is worried that instead of strengthening the rules, the changes will actually weaken them.
Mr. Conacher, founder of Democracy Watch, said he is concerned that the updates to the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service may actually relax today’s standards to bring them in line with the codes of conduct for Members of Parliament, Senators, Cabinet ministers and staffers.
“Believe it or not, the least powerful public servant has a higher ethical standard that they have to adhere to than the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Conacher in an interview with Civil Circles last week.
“It’s because Harper, and Martin before him, gutted the rules in the Conflict of Interest Act, and MPs and Senators wrote their own rules, and when they first wrote them in 2004 and 2005 they just put in huge loopholes,” he stated.
The Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service in use today was written in 2003, prior to the current versions of the political codes. The code itself states that the rules should be read “in the context of” the rules set out for ministers.
The public service code lays out the ethical standards civil servants need to uphold, outlines situations that would put a bureaucrat in a conflict of interest, and ensures that someone leaving the public service doesn’t inappropriately benefit from business contacts they had while in government.
“In the public service, how ends are achieved should be as important as the achievements themselves,” reads the current code.
Public servants commit to following the code as a condition of employment, and those who break the rules can be disciplined or fired.
“The lowliest bureaucrat, who only makes decisions to affect a tiny number of things, or maybe doesn’t have decision-making power, has to arrange their affairs in a timely manner that will prevent real, apparent or potential conflicts of interests,” said Mr. Conacher.
Anabel Lindblad, spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, said that the new version of the code is “still under development,” and did not give a target date for implementation, but a source has told Civil Circles that it’s ready to go.
Treasury Board holds consultations both inside the public service, from management and more than 5,000 public servants, and outside, with academics, unions, ethics experts and public sector chief executives, Ms. Lindblad told Civil Circles in an email.
Once finalized, the code must be approved by the Treasury Board Ministers, including President Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.), Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove, Alta.). Then the code heads to Parliament, where it’s tabled for 30 days in the House and the Senate before coming into effect.
Mr. Conacher said conflict of interest rules are one instance where the current code holds public servants to a higher standard than politicians.
The public servants’ code states that, “In carrying out their official duties, public servants should arrange their private affairs in a manner that will prevent real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest from arising.”
“There’s no exemption,” noted Mr. Conacher.”
“You can’t even be in the appearance of a conflict of interest, or in a potential conflict of interest. It’s a very high standard, and it’s a standard that used to exist in the Conflict of Interest Code for Cabinet Ministers,” he said.
The Senate and House’s codes of conduct exempt a Parliamentarian from conflict of interest rules if they are involved in discussing laws with a general application. Conservative Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin recently came under scrutiny after she voted down the NDP’s Climate Change Accountability Act while on the board and owning stock in Alberta company Oilsands Quest Inc.
Last month, Senate Ethics Officer Jean Fournier stated in his decision about the case that Sen. Wallin was not in a conflict of interest because the bill was not specific to Oilsands Quest.
The public servant’s code as it stands obliges civil servants to fill out a confidential report to their deputy minister outlining anything they own that could be a possible source of a real or apparent conflict of interest as do Parliamentarians. For public servants that includes detailing any partnerships, business ventures, outside work and many types of assets, from directly held retirement or education savings to stock in foreign currency.
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Source: Hill Times
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