Continuing our dialogue, positioning for the future: Progress update on values and ethics

August 2024

Message from Christiane Fox, Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet, to Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, John Hannaford

Among other reflections, I have been seized with how our values and ethics underpin our efforts to advance the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service (Call to Action), and the need to continue to profile the important ways in which these priorities reinforce and strengthen each other. I have also been struck by not just the deep appetite for continued dialogue, but the need to complement dialogue with concrete action. In this regard, I am working closely with the Canada School of Public Service, the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, and other partners and champions across the public service to showcase some of these actions and best practices at a public service–wide symposium on values and ethics to be held this fall.

I am also encouraged by the self-assessments received in June from 93 departments and agencies, in response to our direction from January 2024. These submissions reflect the deep commitment of organizations to grounding their work in public service values and ethics. They also showcase the deliberate and innovative practices that have been adopted and from which we all can learn.

In closing, I look forward to continuing this important work and building on the momentum showcased in this report. I truly believe that our values define us, unite us, and position us for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Christiane Fox
Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet

A renewed conversation on public service values and ethics – The journey to date

Without question, the complex operating environment in which public servants deliver on the Government of Canada’s priorities has altered considerably in the years since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Shifting geopolitical dynamics, the rapidly-evolving digital space, adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the increasing need for vigilance around security and cybersecurity, the polarization of views on pressing issues such as climate change, and the rise of misinformation and disinformation are just some of the pressures that are currently impacting the work of public servants.

Factors internal to the public service operating environment have also shifted. The public service has welcomed a large number of new public servants, many of whom were hired and onboarded into fully virtual working conditions and have now shifted to hybrid work. There is also heightened recognition of the need to advance reconciliation and to combat racism, hate, discrimination, harassment, and violence, while advancing accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Taken together, these dynamics reaffirm the important role of public service values and ethics in helping public servants navigate through challenging and changing circumstances. To support the provision of effective, professional, and non-partisan advice to Government and delivering services to Canadians, it is fundamental that public servants demonstrate a strong awareness of their collective professional values and ethics and consistently apply them in their decisions, actions, and behaviours.

Building from the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics

In September 2023, a Deputy Ministers’ Task Team (Task Team) was formed to design and lead an exercise to advance a broad conversation with public servants on how to bring our collective values and ethics to life within a dynamic and increasingly complex environment.

From September to December 2023, the Task Team conducted over 90 outreach and engagement sessions with individuals, networks, and communities, internal and external to the public service. The goal was to capture a wide range of voices from across Canada with a variety of operational realities and a diversity of perspectives.

These conversations are reflected in the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council (Milestone Report) that was released in December 2023.

One of the messages that emerged strongly from these initial conversations was public servants’ unwavering commitment to serve Canadians with excellence. The work of the Task Team and its Milestone Report has provided a solid base to continue bringing public service values and ethics to life.

Continuing the conversation across the public service

Building on the work initiated by the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team, important conversations have continued across the public service with public servants across Canada and abroad, spanning a range of different regions, roles, communities and networks, and provincial and territorial counterparts (Annex A).

Several themes on values and ethics emerged from these wide-ranging discussions:

• The work on values and ethics must not come at the expense of, but rather must accelerate the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion (Call to Action) and other efforts to advance reconciliation and accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Conversations about values and ethics must continue and need to be more deliberate, including in the context of hybrid.
• Public servants need to be equipped to navigate situations where personal values differ with Government directions.
• Public servants want to see how their work contributes to broader goals and objectives, and this can sometimes be impeded by heavy hierarchies and layers of process.
• There needs to be deeper understanding of the role of the public service as an institution, and how it contributes to Canada’s democracy.
• Greater effort is needed to clarify expected behaviours and foster consequential accountability by responding effectively when those behaviours are not demonstrated.
• The public service needs to be positioned for the future, including by adapting to and adopting technological change, such as artificial intelligence.

To make progress on these themes, public servants were also eager to share their concrete ideas on how to strengthen public service values and ethics. For example,

• Continuing to reinforce the link between public service values and ethics and making progress on efforts to advance anti-racism, reconciliation and accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Exploring the scope and use of leadership competencies in performance management to set and incent desired behaviours.
• Providing clearer guidance in key areas, such as on conflict of interest and public servants’ personal use of social media.
• Ensuring managers have the tools they need in responding to values and ethics issues on the “front line.”
• Providing safe spaces and channels where public servants can express their views without fear of reprisal or calling into question their non-partisanship.

Deepening the foundations within organizations

Departmental action on values and ethics

In parallel to the conversations taking place across the public service, Deputy Heads were asked to act within their organizations to: 

• Develop department-specific values and ethics training plans, down to the divisional level, to ensure all public servants in their organizations have a deep understanding of public service values and ethics and their integration into their everyday work;
• Review and, if necessary, update their organizational codes of conduct; and
• Foster a conversation at all levels within their organization on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics.

Deputies were also asked to report back on the actions undertaken in their departments by June 2024.

To support consistent and comparable reporting, organizations were provided a common values and ethics self-assessment questionnaire in early April 2024. A corresponding questionnaire was distributed to support reporting on the Forward Direction of the Call to Action to Advance Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service that was undertaken in parallel.

The following sections outline feedback heard from engagements and key findings from organizational self-assessments. They are a snapshot of the journey to date, providing a high-level overview of the themes emerging from the self-assessments and some next steps. They are not an analysis or assessment of the self-assessments received. Nor are they a replacement for reading through and understanding the individual self-assessments.

Emerging approaches to advance values and ethics

A total of 93 organizations submitted self-assessments (Annex B). From the departmental submissions received, it is clear that organizations are taking action to advance this work.

In their reporting submissions, what is evident is that organizations are employing several tools and processes to advance this work (Annex C). 

Overwhelmingly, organizations identified the important role of ongoing discussions between employees and managers as key to embedding values and ethics in their day-to-day work, underscoring the value of having authentic human connection. Some organizations also recognized that some individuals may not be comfortable having conversations with management directly. With a view to building trust, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency implemented the “Honest Brokers” initiative, creating a safe space where employees can confidentially and informally discuss issues and seek advice.

Learning through shared experiences, notably by storytelling, was identified as a particularly beneficial way to support employees in better understanding how they can apply values and ethics in their operational realities. For example, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada shared that its executives share lessons learned from managing ethical dilemmas, and is updating its manager’s toolkit to capture recurring themes and newly identified gaps to further support discussion between managers and employees. Employees at Prairies Economic Development Canada emphasized the importance of group discussion and storytelling from senior management, with employees positively responding to senior managers sharing their personal stories relating to public service values and overcoming ethical challenges.

Examples of common approaches to help embed values and ethics include:

• Onboarding is being identified as a critical point to establish a foundational understanding of the role of public service values and ethics for new employees. Organizations are reviewing and implementing mandatory values and ethics training and orientation sessions when employees join the public service and when they take on new roles. For example, new Canada School of Public Service employees must read their organization’s code of conduct and guidelines for conflict of interest, participate in an orientation session that includes a presentation by their Values and Ethics Champion, and visit a virtual values and ethics kiosk where they are able to ask questions and participate in discussions. Numerous organizations, such as the Canadian Dairy Commission and the Canadian Border Services Agency, have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, dedicated values and ethics discussions in their onboarding sessions.
• The performance assessment cycle is also being viewed as an opportunity to reinforce public servants’ awareness and understanding of public service values and ethics at all levels. Several organizations have taken steps to reinforce the important role of key codes and directives, such as the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, the Directive on Conflict of Interest, and individual organizational codes of conduct as part of regular performance management discussions. For example, Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) has included indicators related to values and ethics in its 2024-25 performance management agreements for all employees, regardless of level. They include setting the expectation that employees are to participate in a minimum of two values and ethics learning events within the year. Additionally, WAGE developed and launched its own Leadership Series in March 2024, targeting all executives in a shared learning exercise.
• Many organizations are also reporting the importance of implementing processes that provide employees with formalized opportunities, such as attestations, to regularly reflect upon and demonstrate their commitment to values and ethics and related directives. For example, organizations including Heritage Canada, Telefilm Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario have all implemented a version of mandatory annual attestations, enabling employees to review and declare any changes to their individual situations from a values and ethics lens, as well as to declare with the view to avoiding any real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has created a Conflict-of-Interest Self-Assessment tool to help its employees make an informed assessment of their specific situation and how it relates to the requirements set out in their organizational code of conduct, the Directive on Conflict of Interest, and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, among other policy instruments. Similarly, employees at all levels of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) must annually affirm they understand and are committed to their organizational code of conduct. As a means to encourage their employees to be proactive and seek guidance when they have concerns, CSIS’s code of conduct incorporates a “Stop. Reflect. Inquire” concept.
• Organizations also emphasized the important role of senior leaders in making this work a priority. While many departments identified managers as the key to fostering a culture of values and ethics for employees, it was also noted that the tone set and actions taken by senior management were just as important to a strong values and ethics culture. For example, Correctional Service Canada’s Ethical Leadership Program is being updated to include references to the areas of focus from the Milestone Report and will include content on effective leadership in the organization, the current public service context, conflict of interest, and social media usage. The role of accountability was also mentioned by departments, such as by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) speaking to the need to ensure that consequential accountability was well defined and applied fairly and transparently regardless of level. To that effect, GAC published its first annual misconduct and wrongdoing report in 2023, providing transparency on how it handled reported misconduct or wrongdoing cases.
• Some organizations also expressed the need to positively embed values and ethics into their organizational culture using recognition opportunities. For example, Polar Knowledge Canada has introduced a Values and Ethics Award to recognize individuals who consistently demonstrate the core values and ethical standards of the public service in their daily work and interactions. Similarly, Finance Canada is also discussing the possibility of integrating values and ethics categories into future recognition events to spotlight the core role of public servants in supporting departmental achievements. The National Research Council and Transport Canada mentioned that conversations with their employees highlighted the benefit of recognizing and celebrating success in fostering pride in the role of public servants in relation to values and ethics.
• Finally, departments also highlighted the importance of sharing best practices and learning from each other, particularly for smaller organizations. For example, the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada identified the Interdepartmental Group on Values and Ethics network and the Codes to Culture (C2C) page on GCconnex as an invaluable resource to benefit from lessons learned and insights from other departments. As a micro-organization, the Copyright Board of Canada shares resources and best practices with other administrative tribunals. It also makes good use of the tools, resources, and training provided by central agencies in supporting values and ethics conversations. The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General has also indicated that it intends to consult within its organization and with other government departments as it reviews its organizational code of conduct.

In addition to the highlights above, departmental reporting revealed that there is heavy reliance on the Canada School of Public Service and the Public Service Employee Survey across the federal government.

The Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) plays a unique and fundamental role in supporting the value and ethics learning needs of departments. CSPS was commonly referenced as the main provider of foundational training on values and ethics for both employees and managers. While larger organizations often developed specific departmental specific training, many also used the CSPS’s offerings. Overwhelmingly, smaller organizations indicated that the CSPS is the primary, and often the sole, source of training and learning on values and ethics.

The Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) was identified by most departments as the tool they plan to use to measure progress and impact on employees’ awareness on values and ethics.

Emerging themes

A number of themes are emerging from both organizational and public service-wide discussions, notably the importance of:

• Continuing to link values and ethics as foundational to efforts to advance anti-racism, accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion and reconciliation
• Supporting public servants to effectively navigate grey areas around personal expression, including on social media
• Preparing for future disruptors, and in particular the emerging use of Artificial Intelligence in the federal public service

Values and ethics as the foundation for reconciliation, anti-racism, accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion

Consistent with what the Task Team heard during their consultations, a common theme heard throughout more recent engagements was the concern that the focus on values and ethics would somehow overtake or even undermine the continued commitment to the Call to Action. As was repeatedly conveyed through all engagements, efforts to strengthen our public service values and ethics are fundamental to making progress to advance anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion and reconciliation. Living our values, including respect for people, integrity, and excellence can only happen when we embrace equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The important linkages between Values and Ethics and the Call to Action will continue to be reinforced, including in planning for a public service-wide symposium this fall.

A similar commitment was evident in the submissions from departments and agencies. Over half of the departments indicated that they engaged with equity groups, networks, and communities, with many reinforcing the objectives of the Call to Action through Values and Ethics discussions and activities.

Many organizations also reported having had one or more engagement sessions on personal accountability in upholding values and ethics, with most discussions occurring with executives. Shared Services Canada (SSC) promotes personal accountability through the introduction of new indicators as part of Executive commitments, such as exemplifying ethical practices and confirming the completion of CSPS mandatory training on values and ethics.

The important role of managers as a first point of contact in resolving ethical dilemmas came through strongly in many submissions. Recognizing their key role, many departments have prepared materials and engagement kits to support managers in having safe, open conversations with employees. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada has equipped managers with the tools and knowledge required to lead in-depth discussions on values and ethics within their teams to foster a “safe space” and receive more honest and detailed feedback recognizing that employees are generally more open to sharing their insights in smaller settings.

Reconciling personal views with our role as public servants

As highlighted in the Milestone Report, there are often grey areas around navigating personal expression while also maintaining trust and integrity in the public service as an institution. This concern was reinforced during more recent engagements, where a broad range of public servants raised the ethical dilemmas that arise when personal or professional values are not aligned with Government direction that they are asked to implement as public servants. These dilemmas can have unique dimensions for specific communities, including scientists and younger public servants. They also raise questions around the use of social media by public servants, and the circumstances in which social media posts can fall within or outside the values and ethics of the federal public service.

Through engagements, the importance of understanding our role as public servants was reinforced, including duty of loyalty and service to the government of the day. But the need for “safe spaces” – where public servants can seek advice and express concerns without fear of reprisal – was also recognized. These safe spaces can be informal (e.g., peers and colleagues, managers) or formal mechanisms such as Human Resources or Ombudspersons’ offices.

Organizations have taken positive steps to support employees in successfully navigating personal use of social media, while strengthening how public servants understand their unique role and duty.

Many organizations indicated that they have undertaken conversations and activities or training sessions dedicated to the use of social media. One example is Statistics Canada. Since January 2024, Statistics Canada has held 14 sessions, attended by hundreds of employees, focusing on “social media guidelines for employees” and best practices in social media usage.

Some organizations have noted that conversations on social media often focused on how public servants can uphold their duty of loyalty, and manage conflict of interest, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the boundaries around its usage. Indigenous Services Canada has developed Social Media Use training sessions with the objective of supporting employees in balancing personal freedom of expression and the duty of loyalty, giving practical advice on how to apply judgment when using social media.

Some organizations are making use of the Canada School of Public Service’s current offerings to provide additional training on social media. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has included the Canada School of Public Service course Navigating Social Media as a Public Servant as a recommended course in its Learning Roadmap for all employees. It has also developed a two-page tool on the use of social media as a public servant and considerations on when and when not to post on social media.

Some are also embedding clearer guidance on the use of social media directly into their organizational codes of conduct. The updates that the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency has made to its values and ethics code aim to offer employees better guidance and explicitly address the connection between expected behaviours and conduct outside of work. It includes five new sections on topics such as social media usage, duty of loyalty, and the use of artificial intelligence. The Canada Energy Regulator noted its intention to continually update and improve its Code of Conduct, including offering guidance on social media and how its code applies to conduct outside of work.

Positioning for the future – Artificial intelligence

Engagement led by the Task Team generated lively discussions about the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI). Conversations surfaced a need for both increased awareness of potential benefits of AI as a tool, and ethical considerations regarding its use. Many participants indicated their preference for clearer parameters before using AI for purposes such as service delivery. This feedback informed two recommendations in the Milestone Report: that Deputy Ministers review their codes of conduct to ensure alignment with the evolving context (e.g., artificial intelligence), and that Deputy Ministers, with support from central agencies, provide employees with the tools and training to enable their work, and guidance on emerging technologies such as AI.

Importantly, the Task Team’s engagements created an appetite from employees to continue to explore this topic to gain a better understanding of how AI can support their operations and improve quality of services and outcomes for Canadians.

These conversations flowed into organizational discussions and actions within the federal public service.

Many organizations have indicated that they have either reviewed or are in the process of reviewing their code of conduct to reflect this quickly evolving landscape. Many are taking this opportunity to set clearer expectations on AI and incorporating guidance into their updated code. While the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) already has general guidance on social media and evolving technologies, including artificial intelligence, it is looking to enhance future versions of their Code to provide more clarity. Feedback from organizations complements and builds upon existing Government of Canada guidance on AI, such as in the Directive on Automated Decision-Making and the Guide on the use of generative AI.

Many organizations have continued to build on employee awareness of and interest in AI and have undertaken organization-specific activities and training sessions on the responsible use of AI by public servants. The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) developed and distributed educational materials and held a focused engagement session that included a guest speaker on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence. To continue to spark discussions on AI and emphasize personal accountability, CSE will consider such themes for the yearly organization-wide campaign for “Ethics Week.”

To foster professional conduct, the Department of National Defence has published and promoted more than 140 professional conduct scenario-based learning vignettes on its website as a way to facilitate ethical conversations, including topics such as AI and social media.

To better embed ethical considerations of AI into employees’ work, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre engaged with their employees regarding the utilization of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the development of the Centre’s policy on use of GenAI. Another example of embedding ethical considerations into daily operations is Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), whose experts in its Office of Values and Ethics are actively collaborating with its Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence to ensure that a values and ethics lens is applied to AI projects.

What’s next

Momentum on values and ethics has continued to build over the last year, fuelled by public servants bringing their experiences and ideas to discussions within their teams and broader organizations, alongside communities and networks engaging across the public service.

To build on this increased awareness and facilitate a common understanding of our shared responsibilities throughout the public service, a public service-wide values and ethics symposium is being organized for fall 2024. 

The symposium is meant to provide an opportunity for all public servants, across Canada and abroad, to reaffirm values and ethics as a guide to drive innovation and service excellence.

It will be a unique opportunity for public servants to:

• learn more about actions undertaken to bring our collective public service values and ethics to life,
• highlight and benefit from examples of best practices in values and ethics, and
• deepen their understanding of some top-of-mind values and ethics issues, such as navigating social media and artificial intelligence. 

This event will also emphasize the link between values and ethics and work to advance reconciliation and accessibility, anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.

The symposium will be broadcast from the National Capital Region (NCR), and all public servants will be able to participate virtually. It will be complemented by satellite events in other locations to provide an opportunity for public servants outside of the NCR to participate in-person.

In the lead-up to this event, and in recognition of the themes emerging from this public service–wide dialogue, efforts are underway to develop and renew supports for public servants in a changing environment. These include renewed guidance on social media, focused discussions and training on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, enhanced direction on Conflict of Interest, enhanced approaches to onboarding, and supporting safe spaces for dialogue on the role of public servants in providing effective, professional, and non-partisan advice and loyally implementing government direction. Developments in these areas will be shared at the symposium on Values and Ethics this fall.

Annex A – List of Clerk and Deputy Clerk engagements

Note: These engagements cover the period from January to July 2024 but will continue into the future, reflecting the renewed commitment to raising awareness and encouraging dialogue on values and ethics across the federal public service.

Annex B – List of organizations who submitted a self-assessment questionnaire on values and ethics

1. Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
3. Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
4. Canada Border Services Agency
5. Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
6. Canada Energy Regulator
7. Canada Revenue Agency
8. Canada School of Public Service
9. Canadian Dairy Commission
10. Canadian Food Inspection Agency
11. Canadian Grain Commission
12. Canadian Heritage
13. Canadian Human Rights Commission
14. Canadian Institutes of Health Research
15. Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat
16. Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
17. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
18. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
19. Canadian Security Intelligence Service
20. Canadian Space Agency
21. Canadian Transportation Agency
22. Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
23. Communications Security Establishment Canada
24. Copyright Board Canada
25. Correctional Service of Canada
26. Courts Administration Service
27. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
28. Department of National Defence
29. Elections Canada
30. Employment and Social Development Canada
31. Environment and Climate Change Canada
32. Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
33. Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
34. Finance Canada
35. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
36. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
37. Fisheries and Oceans Canada
38. Global Affairs Canada
39. Health Canada
40. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
41. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
42. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
43. Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
44. Indigenous Services Canada
45. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
46. Invest in Canada
47. Justice Canada
48. Library and Archives of Canada
49. Military Grievances External Review Committee
50. Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada
51. National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman
52. National Gallery of Canada
53. National Research Council Canada
54. National Security Intelligence Committee for Parliamentarians
55. National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
56. Natural Resources Canada
57. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
58. Office of the Auditor General of Canada
59. Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs
60. Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
61. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada
62. Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
63. Office of the Intelligence Commissioner
64. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
65. Office of the Procurement Ombudsman
66. Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
67. Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
68. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
69. Pacific Economic Development Canada
70. Parks Canada
71. Parole Board of Canada
72. Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
73. Polar Knowledge Canada
74. Prairies Economic Development Canada
75. Privy Council Office
76. Public Health Agency of Canada
77. Public Prosecution Service of Canada
78. Public Safety Canada
79. Public Service Commission of Canada
80. Public Services and Procurement Canada
81. Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada
82. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
83. Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee
84. Shared Services Canada
85. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
86. Statistics Canada
87. Telefilm Canada
88. Transport Canada
89. Transportation Safety Board of Canada
90. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
91. Veterans Affairs Canada
92. Veterans Review and Appeal Board
93. Women and Gender Equality Canada

Annex C – Quantitative data from organizations’ self-assessment questionnaires

Below is an overview of the quantitative analysis for the 93 submissions received.