Office of the Secretary to the Governor General

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?

Since the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG) is described as a micro-organization with a total of 170 FTEs, we have developed and implemented a mandatory training plan at the departmental level. We have included the following courses from the Canada School of Public Service: Values & Ethics Foundations for Employees (FON301); Values & Ethics Foundations for Managers (FON302).

Question 2

Has your organization fully implemented department-specific training plans?

• Yes

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

N/A

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 OSGG will soon begin the process of reviewing its Code of Conduct ensure alignment with the vision of the Clerk of the Privy Council. The current timeline estimated for completion is September 2025. We will be consulting with other government departments, our Values and Ethics (V&E) Champion and OSGG employees to focus on how the public sector values translate to our day-to-day activities and situations faced regularly by our staff, now and in the future.

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.

N/A

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?

• Focused engagement sessions for specific functional areas (e.g., operations, finance, communications, policy, human resources)
• Specific values and ethics communications campaigns

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

As of March 2024, a section entitled ‘Ethical Moments’ has been added to the OSGG’s bi-weekly, department-wide newsletters. This section supports the education of employees on the values for the core public administration by detailing a scenario in which values and ethics need to be applied, considerations and possible steps to resolve the dilemma.

Our focused engagements sessions were within Human Resources, specifically our Human Resources Governance and Administration section, who deals directly with the Values and Ethics file.

There have been some high-level discussions with our Secretary and Assistant Secretary, the Values in Ethics Champion, the Functional Authority in Human Resources and the Head of Human Resources at the Office of Secretary to the Governor General.

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?

• Incorporated in employees’ professional development and mandatory learning plans

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

We have included, as part of the mandatory training plan, the following Values and Ethics Canada School of Public Service courses: Values and Ethics Foundations for employees (FON 301) and Vales and Ethics for managers (FON 302).

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?

We have not had any formal conversations with our employees with regards to Values and Ethics. We will however pursue these conversations within our entire department at different forums, such as the Middle Management Network, the Operational Management Committee, the Secretary and Assistant Secretary coffee chats, and discussions within the Values and Ethics Committee.

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 have not made any adjustments to our learning activities; however, we will be introducing a Knowledge Sharing Session on “Social media and the public servant”. We will also be inviting a presenter from Treasury Board to speak about Political Activities and another speaker to present on Conflict of Interest.

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)?

N/A

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 will measure increased employee awareness trends from the data collected from: Knowledge sharing session on navigating social media, the Public Service Employee Survey, internal Pulse Surveys, and we will be engaging with various focus groups such as our Operational Management Committee, our Middle Management Network, the Secretary and Assistant Secretary coffee Chats and our Values and Ethics Committee. Our updated and current indicators will be measured against the previous two years’ data collected on Values and Ethics employee awareness. 

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)?

N/A