Gov’t. Report Warns of ‘Decreasing Confidence in Canada’s Democracy’, Suggests Mitigations

A woman walks past the the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building in the parliamentary precinct in downtown Ottawa, on June, 30, 2020. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Civil servants should face discipline for incompetence or corruption no matter how high up they are in the chain of command, a recently released Privy Council report recommends.

The report recommended “consequences for violations regardless of level or position” for managers who breach a federal Ethics Code. It was just one of the recommendations made in a bid to address the “decreasing confidence in Canada’s democracy” since the pandemic.

“Measures of decreasing confidence in Canada’s democracy are cause for concern,” reads the “Value and Ethics Report,” which was first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter. “Citizens rightfully expect publicly funded institutions to deliver services effectively and efficiently.”

The report, written by deputy ministers from five different departments, included feedback from civil servants at a variety of levels to gauge issues and identify areas for improvement. Deputy ministers are the nonpartisan senior civil servants in government departments, who act as deputy head, answering only to the MPs who are appointed to lead portfolios such as environment, health, or finance.

One issue that elicited a lot of comments was the lack of accountability for senior staff. A number of civil servants identified a “double standard” between senior leadership and employees when it comes to compliance and enforcement of the Ethics Code.

“We need to hold people accountable. We know the playbook. If an executive gets their hand slapped, they are moved into a special project, promoted or moved,” reads a comment from an unnamed employee who participated in a discussion group. “We see this so often. It’s well understood.”

Another employee shared similar concerns: “There is selective enforcement of values and ethics within the public service,” the employee said. “The higher up the food chain you go, the less accountability seems to exist.”

Code of Ethics

The federal government introduced the code of ethics after the sponsorship scandal of the early 2000s when a $100 million fraud ring in the Department of Public Works was uncovered. One federal manager and three contractors received jail time as a result, and several high-profile politicians and civil servants were fired.

The code hasn’t been revised since 2012, but the report suggests some changes need to be made.

“The pandemic dramatically changed how the public service works, impacted citizens’ trust in public institutions, increased their expectations and diminished their overall satisfaction with government services,” the report stated, although it didn’t give any specific examples.

“There appear to be few, if any, consequences for senior leaders who act in contravention of values and ethics, as compared to consequences imposed upon employees,” the report added.

The report did not cite any specific incidents of corruption or incompetence.

A November report from Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic identified transparency issues and ethics concerns regarding “federal procurement activities.” He said his office was contacted 24 times in 2023 about the behaviours of federal officials being “inconsistent with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.”

“My office has also experienced first-hand issues regarding transparency. We often encounter difficulties gaining access to procurement documentation or reliable contracting data that is required to conduct our legislated activities,” Mr. Jeglic wrote in his Nov. 14 report to Parliament.

“It is clear that more attention is required in the area of information management in order to improve transparency across federal procurement and the government at large.”

The Value and Ethics Report also made recommendations to create an “ongoing, practical dialogue” about the code in a bid to address “a lack of awareness” among employees about its values and ethics.