Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada

Part I. Values and ethics training plans

Question 1

Has your organization developed department-specific values and ethics training plans down to the divisional level?

• No

If not, to what level have department-specific values and ethics training plans been developed and what is your target time frame for completing this work?

Before the pandemic, the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) gave training on values and ethics to all staff. Because the ATSSC’s mandate is focused on supporting administrative tribunals, similar job functions are found across the organization, including registry services, mediation, legal counsel and tribunal member support. For this reason, the ATSSC applied a standardized in-house values and ethics training approach across the organization. The training covered the ATSSC’s values and expected behaviours and promoted public sector values. It also explored the ATSSC Code of Conduct, identified and addressed ethical dilemmas and potential conflicts of interest and provided guidance on how to appropriately report wrongdoing.

In addition to the in-house training, the ATSSC included the Values and Ethics Foundations for Employees (FON301) course offered by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) as mandatory training for all employees.

The ATSSC is taking the opportunity to review its training in response to the Call to Action on Values and Ethics. Engagement sessions continue to be organized at all levels of the organization. Their goals are to renew the conversation on values and ethics and to collect feedback from staff and managers on challenges and areas of focus and the type of support they require. Also, the organization recently developed new tools on conflict of interest-including a mandatory self-assessment-that will act as an important reminder to identify and address potential, real or apparent conflict of interest situations.

Over the coming weeks, the Human Resources team will analyze feedback from the engagement sessions and the type of questions and situations reported from the renewed conflict of interest initiative. These insights will be critical to inform the development of the renewed training for staff. At this stage of the process, it is difficult to determine the extent to which training plans will differ from one area to another, given the similar focus of each secretariat, but efforts will be made to ensure that the training is appropriately contextualized and relevant to their area. The intent is to develop the new training program in the fall and begin delivering it to staff in winter 2025.

Question 2

Has your organization fully implemented department-specific training plans?

• No

If not, what is your target time frame for completing this work?

At the onset of the pandemic, the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) paused its in-house values and ethics training program to focus on other critical matters. The ATSSC is currently reviewing its department-specific training program on values and ethics to ensure it addresses current challenges and realities and responds to the needs expressed by staff and managers. This training will also be adapted so that it can be delivered in a virtual or hybrid format. The ATSSC aims to complete the redesign of its Values and Ethics training program in the fall 2024 and implement it in winter 2025.

The work continues to deploy department-specific training plans, the organization has recently revamped its suite of conflict of interest tools. The Values and Ethics Foundation course remains part of the staff’s mandatory training. 

Part II. Codes of conduct

Question 3

Has your organization reviewed its code of conduct?

• My organization is in the process of reviewing its code of conduct.

Question 4

If your organization is in the process of reviewing its code of conduct, what is your target time frame for completing the review?

The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) has initiated engagement sessions with staff to renew conversations on values and ethics. These conversations also aim to collect feedback from the staff on the challenges they face and the support they require to continue upholding the values of the Public Service. The ATSSC’s Human Resources Directorate will analyze the feedback in consideration of the organization’s current code of conduct and will engage in further discussions with management. These discussions could lead to adjust certain elements of the organization’s code of conduct if gaps are identified. The ATSSC aims to complete the review of its code of conduct by March 31, 2025. The current code of conduct was established in 2018.

A code of conduct is a critical tool which helps set expectations and guide behaviours, and changes should be carefully considered. As such, the timeline proposed above provides sufficient time to complete this work and update the code of conduct, as needed, so it reflects today’s reality.

Question 5

If your organization has completed the review of its code of conduct, did this review lead to updates?

• My organization is in the process of updating its code of conduct.

Please briefly describe the nature of any updates made (e.g., to clarify expected behaviours, to align with the emerging context, to include emerging risks) or explain why no updates were deemed necessary.

The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) is at the beginning of the process to collect insights and feedback on values and ethics and on its code of conduct. At this stage, it is too early to determine the extent of changes that will be required. If an update is deemed required, the ATSSC is committed to making the necessary changes and ensuring that they are communicated effectively to staff. 

Part III. Discussions on personal accountability in upholding public service values and ethics

Question 6

What activities or actions has your organization undertaken to foster a conversation at all levels on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics?

• Dedicated discussions at executive and management committee meetings
• Focused engagement sessions for specific functional areas (e.g., operations, finance, communications, policy, human resources)
• Focused engagement sessions on specific topics (e.g., conflicts of interest, social media, emerging technologies)
• Specific values and ethics communications campaigns

Please provide additional details on activities that you have undertaken, including those not listed above.

It is very important for the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) to ensure that values and ethics are upheld within our organization. Values and ethics are a key aspect of our onboarding program. ATSSC has a comprehensive onboarding page for new employees which emphasizes ATSSC values and promotes the Canada School of Public Service mandatory training on values and ethics. As part of the onboarding process, managers are required to discuss values and ethics with new employees and to ensure that they have read and understood the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, as well as the ATSSC Code of Conduct.

In addition to the onboarding resources for new employees, the ATSSC’s Intranet has a dedicated page on Values and Ethics. Information on important topics such as the duty of loyalty (including the use of social media), political activities, disclosure of wrongdoing and conflict of interest is readily accessible to all ATSSC employees.

The ATSSC has also developed a comprehensive package to assist managers in holding discussions with their teams (engagement sessions) on personal accountability to uphold the public service values and ethics. Managers are expected to encourage transparency by openly and respectfully creating a forum to share views on values and ethics in today’s public service environment. These efforts underscore our shared accountability to uphold them. The discussions are underway and will continue over the course of the next few months.

Ad-hoc all staff communiqués are also sent within the ATSSC to remind employees of proper conduct and to abide at all times to the Values & Ethics Code for the Public Sector, including when off-duty or when using social media. 

Most recently, the ATSSC updated its process for managing conflict of interest files and has developed and promoted new tools to better equip employees and their managers on how to identify and deal with potential conflict of interest situations. 

Question 7

Has your organization taken any actions to ensure that conversations on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics occur on a continuing basis?

• Included as part of the onboarding process for new employees
• Incorporated in employees’ professional development and mandatory learning plans

Please provide details on activities that you have undertaken, including those not listed above.

The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) has a well-established onboarding process supported by several tools. These tools ensure that new employees transition effectively into their new roles and that expectations are clear on the importance of demonstrating effective behaviours and upholding our values.

In the resources provided to managers to help them lead discussions with their staff on values and ethics, the organization outlined the importance of maintaining an ongoing dialogue and creating a safe space for staff to flag ethical challenges or concerns. Another important aspect of this discussion package are questions to staff about how to reinvigorate and sustain conversations on values and ethics.

It is anticipated that the feedback received further to these engagement sessions will yield creative ideas that can be implemented within the organization. One of the early ideas stemming from these sessions is the establishment of a hybrid onboarding session for new employees. During this session, a senior leader from the organization would discuss ethical challenges that could arise in the context of our work in support to administrative tribunals. The ATSSC will consider this idea among the many others it will receive. This exercise will help integrate values and ethics considerations into its various people management initiatives.

Part IV. Additional information

Question 8

What recurring themes (e.g., social media, emerging technology, conflicts of interest) have emerged from conversations with employees (e.g., students, new public servants, front-line service providers, managers, executives, members of functional/horizontal communities/employee networks) across your organization?

To date, the most recurring themes of our discussions with the various levels of management have been concerns surrounding social medial and artificial intelligence (AI). With our society changing quickly and becoming more complex, social media and AI pose significant concerns from a values and ethics perspective. The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada will explore creating internal guidelines to ensure employees feel confident in using evolving technology honestly, transparently and responsibly. 

Question 9

How have you adjusted your learning activities to address recurring themes (e.g., adjusted training plans, developed specific case studies, invited expert speakers to focus on emerging themes)?

The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) has recently initiated discussions with various levels of management and is beginning to identify recurring themes or issues. These will be reviewed and opportunities on how best to address them will be explored over the coming months. 

One of the first actions in this regard will be to evaluate and adjust the ATSSC’s internal values and ethics training to incorporate themes identified during engagement sessions with staff. This will ensure that our training remains relevant and impactful and will help the organization determine if additional learning activities are needed. Given that learning through case studies and fictional scenarios was identified as one of the preferred approaches, this learning method will likely be used in various new ATSSC tools and resources in the near future. 

Question 10

Are there any actions or learning activities that have been particularly successful in fostering conversations within your organization (e.g., new tools, creative approaches that have resonated well with employees and managers, meeting with small groups, equipping managers to lead conversations, equipping values and ethics office/practitioners)?

The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) is a small organization. Therefore, consulting with external partners has been immensely beneficial for the Values and Ethics team. The Interdepartmental Group on Values and Ethics and the Codes to Culture (C2C) page on GCconnex have been especially valuable. This resource offers tools and references on values and ethics and provides opportunities to consult with experts.

Also, the development of the Discussion Guide on Values and Ethics for ATSSC managers was well received. This toolkit helped build confidence in managers by providing context and structure to these conversations and leading to a more meaningful dialogue with staff. 

Question 11

What indicators will be used to measure increased employee awareness of the role of values and ethics in their daily work (e.g., Public Service Employee Survey, pulse surveys, engagement with focus groups)?

Discussions are continuing at the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) on how best to measure increased employee awareness of the role of values and ethics in their daily work. ATSSC will likely take an approach that combines awareness-raising activities and the individual’s perceptions about being aware.

ATSSC senior managers must ensure that all of their respective staff take part in the organizational engagement sessions on values and ethics. This is a meaningful step to increasing awareness.

The Public Service Employee Survey is a tool that the ATSSC relies upon regularly to measure progress on various people management initiatives. This approach, which facilitates data disaggregation, will be used once again by ATSSC (data disaggregation is the process of breaking down data into detailed sub-categories for better analysis and understanding). If additional questions are included in the survey on values and ethics, they will shed more insights on progress made and areas which required attention.

When the new training session on values and ethics is launched, the ATSSC will have access to useful indicators, such as the number of training participants as well as a survey assessing the training. Data gathered through this approach could also be analysed.

Other approaches adopted could provide useful insights, even though they can’t be treated as empirical evidence. These approaches include engaging with human resources specialists, managers or members of various employee committees such as the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Workplace Wellness Committee.

Regardless of the approaches adopted by the ATSSC, the organization remains committed to ensuring that employees understand how values and ethics are at play in their daily work.

Question 12

Will these indicators be disaggregated by identity factors?

• Yes

Question 13

Is there any additional information that you would like to share regarding your organization’s work on values and ethics (e.g., to advance particular recommendations of the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics Report)?

The Chief Administrator of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) has recently appointed the Executive Director of the Secretariat to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board as the Values and Ethics Champion, which is a new role at the ATSSC. The priority for the Champion this year will be to help increase staff engagement and promote meaningful discussions about values and ethics and what they mean for employees in their work of supporting administrative tribunals. The Champion will also contribute to the ATSSC’s efforts to uphold the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector at all levels.