Canadian Transportation Agency

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?

The Canadian Transportation Agency’s (CTA) mandatory training is designed around the courses offered by the Canada School of Public Service by conforming to our obligations with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and supplements courses judged as relevant to the CTA’s needs.

During fall 2024, executive-level retreats will be held to allow employees to speak about this subject. Following these retreats, comments and proposals will be analyzed in-depth and many actions will be undertaken to increase the common understanding of values and ethics and to further promote employee awareness. Meanwhile, the CTA is developing training on workplace civility and expects to add this course to the mandatory training curriculum. The training should be offered during 2024–2025.    

We are also exploring the possibility of having discussion panels with experts during all-staff meetings followed by small group discussions. The themes explored relate to values and ethics, equity-seeking groups, Indigenous persons, and accessibility. We aim to put this work into practice by the end of the 2025 fiscal year.

In addition, subsequent to the results of consultations with management and the entirety of staff, the intent is to offer additional training on values and ethics depending on the need. The intent is to provide these learning and awareness events between 2024–2026.

Question 2

Has your organization fully implemented department-specific training plans?

• Yes

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

Our organization carries out an annual revision of its mandatory training. The next update will be published at the end of June 2024 and includes the obligation to retake values and ethics courses with the Canada School of Public Service.

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?

Our organization will finish its review of its code of conduct at the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. This review will be done after various consultations.

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.

We are in the process of updating our code of conduct. The intent is to review expected behaviour to harmonize it with the emerging context particular to our organization (assets/liabilities, social media, emerging technology, artificial intelligence).

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
• All-staff engagements (e.g., town halls)
• 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)
• Engagement sessions with equity groups, employee groups, networks and communities
• Inclusion in employees’ performance and talent management cycle discussions
• Specific values and ethics communications campaigns

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

On June 3, a discussion on values and ethics in the public service, and more specifically at the CTA, took place with all executives, managers and team leaders. This consultation/discussion led by the Chair and CEO, the director general of internal services and the director of workplace and workforce, took place in the framework of a retreat session on leadership. Participation was excellent and several comments, ranging from general to organizational context, were brought up.  

During fall 2024, management-level retreats will take place to allow employees to speak on the subject. Following these sessions, comments and proposals will receive in-depth analysis and many actions will be undertaken to increase the common understanding of values and ethics and to further promote employee awareness. 

We also expect to have discussion panels with experts during all-staff meetings followed by small group discussions. The themes explored for the moment relate to values and ethics, equity-seeking groups, Indigenous persons, and accessibility. We aim to put this work into practice by the end of the 2025 fiscal year. 

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

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

The CTA has made participation in employee onboarding sessions mandatory. During these sessions, the importance of respecting the values and ethics of the public service is brought up. A review of the sessions will take place at the end of the consultation process to ensure that they remain aligned. 

In the training plan for CTA employees, the values and ethics course is mandatory. We expect to also incorporate learning activities to ensure that discussions continue. Additionally, managers must ensure that they have values and ethics discussions with their employees before checking off the box on values and ethics in their employees’ performance agreement by the start of the year.

Following a date of planning in June on values and ethics, many suggestions were put forward to encourage and ensure conversations on personal responsibility regarding the respect of values and ethics. It was suggested that there should be focus subgroups on a regular basis to tackle situations about the personal responsibility of leaders when it comes to values and ethics. The suggestions also recommended activities to develop concrete/experienced scenarios to increase awareness and enable decisions in different situations. We are exploring the possibility of adding expected behaviours or measurable elements in employee and manager performance agreements.  

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?

At this time, consultation sessions have been done with executives, managers and team leaders at the CTA. The themes that were brought up at these discussions include social media, relationships with industry, use of emerging technology, artificial intelligence and double employment.   

Based on issues brought up in the past year, we believe that the next discussions will bring up issues concerning interpersonal relationships between public servants, situations regarding liability and participation in elections.

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)?

We haven’t adjusted our learning activities because consultations haven’t been completed. Following various discussions, we will develop an action plan based on organizational and employee needs. The first consultations expressed a preference for case-specific situations, focus groups and inviting expert speakers.    

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)?

We are still at the beginning of the process of consulting and speaking to employees and various networks. Consequently, we do not have any information to add to this question because actions and learning activities haven’t taken place. In the past, training and discussions in small groups using concrete and practical examples were successful.

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)?

We expect to measure the knowledge of staff about their roles around values and ethics in the context of their daily work using results from the next Public Service Employee Survey, pulse surveys and engagement with different focus groups. 

We also anticipate strongly encouraging all branches to maintain discussions during team meetings at regular intervals and during performance management meetings as a method of assessing the knowledge of employees. We are studying the possibility of adding or including measurable elements in employee and manager performance agreements.

Question 12

Will these indicators be disaggregated by identity factors?

• No

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)?

Considering the size of our organization, it is difficult to disaggregate data by identity factors and, at the same time, respect our commitment to confidentiality and privacy. At this point in our assessment, we find that we have the right foundations inside the organization. However, dialogue must be broadened to ensure that all voices are heard in order to match our code to the current context. There is also a need to strengthen and put some emphasis on civility, respect of confidentiality and security.