Towards a public-service code of conduct - and beyond

Canadian Public Administration

Volumn 40, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 40-54

  Kernaghan, Kenneth ^a  

^a BROCK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

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EID: 0039498944     PISSN: 00084840     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-7121.1997.tb01495.x     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. There have, however, been significant academic contributions to this subject, and government studies have examined such matters as conflict of interest and codes of ethics.
2. Canada is not alone in this respect. Robert Denhardt notes in regard to the United States that "most public organizations have not undertaken active efforts to promote ethical behaviour." The Pursuit of Significance: Strategies for Managerial Success in Public Organizations (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1993), p. 242. Governments in the United States rely much more heavily than those in Canada, however, on written rules dealing with ethical conduct.
3. Canada, Task Force on Public Service Values and Ethics, A Strong Foundation (Ottawa: Privy Council Office, 1996) Chaired by John Tait. [See a summarized version in this issue of the Journal.]
4. United Kingdom, Committee on Standards in Public Life [Nolan Committee], First Report, vol. 1 (London: HMSO, 1994), Cmd 2850-1, p. 16.
5. C.S. Cassinelli, "The Public Interest in Political Ethics," in C.J. Friedrich, ed., Nomos 5: The Public Interest (New York: Atherton Press, 1962), p. 46.
6. A.W. Johnson, What is Public Management?: An Autobiographical View (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Management Development, 1993), p. 7.
7. United Kingdom, Civil Service Code, Intended Final Text (1996), p. 1.
8. New Zealand, State Services Commission, Public Service Code of Conduct (Wellington: State Services Commission, 1995), p. 10.
9. Canada, Privy Council Office, Notes on the Responsibilities of Public Servants In Relation to Parliamentary Committees (Ottawa: Privy Council Office, 1990), p. 1.
10. Johnson, What Is Public Management? p. 11.
11. Ibid., p. 11 [emphasis in original].
12. See, for example, Mary E. Guy, Ethical Decision Making in Everyday Work Situations (Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books, 1990), p. 14.
13. Values are defined here as enduring beliefs that influence the choices we make from among available means and ends.
14. Canada, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Third Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1995), p. 38. This list is based in large part on that contained in Public Service 2000: The Renewal of the Public Service of Canada (Ottawa: Supply and Services, 1990), p. 13.
15. Canada, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Third Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1995), p. 38. This list is based in large part on that contained in Public Service 2000: The Renewal of the Public Service of Canada (Ottawa: Supply and Services, 1990), p. 13.
16. For use of the terms democratic values and professional values in this context, I am indebted to John Tait, former deputy minister of justice and chair of the Government of Canada Task Force on Public Service Values and Ethics.
17. See Kenneth Kernaghan, "The emerging public service culture: values, ethics, and reforms," CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 37, no. 4 (Winter 1994), pp. 614-30.
18. See S.L. Sutherland, "Responsible Government and Ministerial Responsibility: Every Reform Is Its Own Problem," Canadian Journal of Political Science 24, no. 1 (March 1991), pp. 114-15.
19. Canada (Treasury Board) v. Osborne [1991] 82 D.L.R. (4th) 321 (S.C.C.).
20. This legislation has not yet been proclaimed.
21. Canada, Office of the Auditor General, "Ethics and Fraud Awareness in Government," Report May 1995 (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1995), p. 1. 23.
22. The Nolan Committee recommended that the code make provision for handling instances in which public servants who were not themselves involved in wrongdoing were aware of wrongdoing by others. Committee on Standards in Public Life, First Report, p. 59.
23. The Nolan Committee noted that when the reforms of the 1980s were made "the question of standards of conduct was not much considered. ... [T]he need for efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services was given pre-eminent place." Ibid., p. 57.
24. Michael Barzelay, Breaking Through Bureaucracy: A New Vision for Managing in Government (Berkeley Calif.: University of California Press, 1992), pp. 117-19.
25. Christopher Hood, "A Public Management for All Seasons," Public Administration 69, no. 1 (Spring 1991), p. 16.
26. "The Ethics of Administrative Discretion," in Joel L. Fleishman, Lance Liebman and Mark H. Moore, eds., Public Duties: The Moral Obligations of Government Officials (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981), p. 122.
27. Submission to the IPAC competition, 14 January 1992. Appended document entitled Some Legal and Ethical Issues Related to the Ontario Substance Abuse Treatment Registry.
28. H. George Frederickson, "Ethics and Public Administration: Some Assertions," in H. George Frederickson ed., Ethics and Public Administration (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1993), p. 250.
29. R.A. Chapman, Ethics in the British Civil Service (London: Routledge, 1988); and B. O'Toole, "Editorial: Permanent Secretaries, Open Competition and the Future of the Public Service," Public Policy and Administration 9, no. 1 (Spring 1994), pp. 7-13.
30. R.A. Chapman, Ethics in the British Civil Service (London: Routledge, 1988); and B. O'Toole, "Editorial: Permanent Secretaries, Open Competition and the Future of the Public Service," Public Policy and Administration 9, no. 1 (Spring 1994), pp. 7-13.
31. Committee on Standards in Public Life, First Report, p. 17.
32. Based on Kenneth Kernaghan, The Ethics Era In Canadian Public Administration (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Management Development, 1996).
33. If there is a government-wide statement on ethics, it can be elaborated by various subcodes to meet the needs of particular categories of officials (e.g., cabinet ministers, legislators, public servants, Crown agency employees).
34. Rules on such matters as harassment and discrimination often constitute part of a collective agreement between the government and an employee union.
35. For example, conflict-of-interest guidelines for Manitoba's Ministry of Family Services supplement government-wide guidelines to provide for the particular problem of employees who work closely with community-based organizations, etc. but who also participate in the community as citizens.
36. One technique for publicizing the code, especially in respect of conflict of interest, is to circulate it annually to all employees and have employees attest by their signature that they have read and understood it.
37. An ethics counsellor could also perform investigative and educational functions. He or she could perform the same functions for cabinet ministers.
38. Depending on the sophistication of the existing ethics regime, the audit can be done either before any of the above measures are adopted or as a means of assessing a regime already in operation.
39. Committee on Standards in Public Life, First Report, p. 11.
40. Kernaghan, "Emerging Public Service Culture," CPA, p. 620.