Transport 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?

Transport Canada (TC) has developed a Values and Ethics Learning Strategy to address department-specific training needs. The strategy was informed by consultations we undertook across the department during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

This strategy was created to:

• support essential learning and development needs around values and ethics, and
• develop an approach to training on values and ethics that gives employees a range of learning opportunities

We’re developing a comprehensive learning roadmap for all TC employees. The roadmap factors-in an employee’s entire “lifecycle”, from onboarding (the process of bringing a new employee into the department and teaching them our culture and policies) to offboarding (the process of transitioning an employee out of the department). The roadmap will include formal and informal learning opportunities, and collaborative learning experiences.

For Transport Canada, discussing each public sector value is key to creating and supporting an inclusive and values-based work culture. With this in mind, we’ve already started to develop collaborative learning experiences for all employees.

In April 2024 we published a discussion guide to:

• help managers and executives have open discussions with their teams around behaviours and actions that do and do not support public sector values
• help all employees understand how values and ethics guide our daily work, and
• help us update Transport Canada’s Values and Ethics Code in the future

Since the launch of the guide, we are proud to say that over 6,000 participants from across TC have engaged in foundational awareness discussions on public sector values with their managers and communities of practice.

We also require all new employees to take the Canada School of Public Service’s (CSPS) values and ethics learning path and encourage existing employees to follow the path to refresh their knowledge.

In our next values and ethics discussions, planned for fall 2024, teams will review and discuss a variety of scenarios, with a specific focus on conflict of interest.

We expect all components related to the strategy to be developed by the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Question 2

Has your organization fully implemented department-specific training plans?

• No

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

All training tied to our Values and Ethics Learning Strategy will be in place by the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

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 feedback from the values and ethics discussions that we’re having with employees will help us update Transport Canada’s Values and Ethics Code in the near future.

These discussions will be completed by the end of June 2024, and include horizontal engagement sessions within communities of practice, such as the scientific community, as well as discussions with TC’s five (5) diversity and inclusion networks:

• Black and Other Racialized Employees Network (BORN)
• Network for Persons with Disabilities
• Transport Canada Indigenous Employee Network (TCIEN)
• Women+ Network at Transport Canada, and
• the Positive Space Network

Once we use this feedback to draft an updated Values and Ethics Code, we will again consult targeted groups to validate the information received from employees.

We plan to publish the updated code in fall 2024.

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.

Given our Values and Ethics Code was last updated in 2012, we plan to review and update it as part of our ongoing work in renewing our Values and Ethics Framework.

We need to completely review our code in order to:

• update value statements
• add examples of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, and
• make sure the content aligns with our always-changing work environment

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.

In the spring of 2023, we began work to renew Transport Canada’s Values and Ethics Framework.

In June 2023, we launched a national survey to gather employee feedback, challenges and priorities for values, ethics and integrity. We collected 1,300 survey responses.

In October 2023, we ran two (2) tabletop exercises with senior leaders to better understand their views on organizational culture and the supports that they, their teams and the organization need to uphold our collective accountability on values and ethics. It was also an opportunity for them to discuss key values and ethics-related risk areas.

In the fall of 2023, we hosted a town hall for executives to repeat the importance of:

• encouraging values and ethics discussions within their teams
• their role in supporting a values-based culture, and
• championing ethical behaviours within their teams

In November and December 2023, we held national engagement sessions with employees, managers, bargaining agents, employment equity networks and communities all regions to further discuss values and ethics.

• We held over 30 focus groups
• We discussed ethical challenges and areas of risk with more than 12 executive tables
• We held discussions on ethical challenges at a number of all-staff events
• We also held a dedicated engagement session with our Manager’s Network

In early 2024, we organized a department-wide all-staff discussion to on public service Values and Ethics, moderated by our Values and Ethics Champion. The event included an interactive segment where we highlighted what we had heard from employees on values and ethics so far. We also invited participants to share additional feedback via a question-and-answer session.

Throughout the year, our Communications team has also actively promoted values and ethics events at all levels of the organization.

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?

No response submitted.

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

As part of our Values and Ethics Learning Strategy, conversations on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics would start at the onboarding stage and continue throughout the employee’s time working at Transport Canada until they are offboarded. 

In April 2024, we published a discussion guide to:

• help managers and executives have open discussions with their teams around behaviours and actions that do and don’t support public sector values
• help all employees understand how values and ethics guide our daily work, and
• help us update Transport Canada’s Values and Ethics Code in the future

We’re using virtual whiteboards to collect feedback from the values and ethics discussions that we’re currently having with employees. As of early June 2024, over 400 conversations have taken place with over 6,000 participants.

These first discussions are part of a series that will focus on different topics that align with key values and ethics-related risk areas (like conflict of interest, social media, etc.).

We also have a number of projects planned that will focus on personal accountability in upholding public service values, including:

• as part of our Values and Ethics learning roadmap, formalizing values and ethics discussions as part of the onboarding process
• incorporating values and ethics training into professional development and mandatory learning plans
• continuing to foster a series of discussions on values and ethics-related topics to help managers, executives, and employee networks and communities of practice to have continued dialogue on values and ethics

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?

From the consultations that we’ve held over the last year, we noted a number of recurring themes that need more attention.

Leadership

• Reinforcing the important role that leaders play in shaping ethical expectations

Communication

• Personalized and more frequent communication on values and ethics

Awareness

• Building more knowledge and awareness on values and ethics at all levels
• More engaging training methods to integrate ethical practices into employee roles

Organizational culture

• More conversations on areas like courtesy, respect and civility so employees understand expected behaviours
• Including work recognition as a key element to help us foster a positive organizational culture

Tools and resources

There is a need for more:

• team discussions
• supports to navigate the systems and processes in place
• case scenarios, and
• guidance on expected workplace behaviours

We also identified and discussed specific risk areas.

Outside activities

• Using social media and artificial intelligence (AI)
• Reinforcing our obligations as public servants outside of the workplace
• Tension between personal and public sector values

Impacts of hybrid work

• Increased movement of the workforce and outside employment
• Gaps in onboarding (the process of bringing a new employee into the department and teaching them our culture and policies) and educating employees on expected behaviours

Non-partisanship and political influence

• Making sure that we provide fearless advice and a full range of options to decision makers
• Emphasizing our role in loyally implementing decisions

Conflict of interest and post-employment

• Reflection on our departmental approach and practices in light of the current and evolving context
• Need for more frequent reminders to employees on the need to declare conflicts of interest
• Educating employees on post-employment risks given our connections to industry

Relationships with vendors and lobbyists

• Blurred lines at time in rules of engagement
• Opportunity to reinforce expected behaviours in those relationships

In addition to our work reviewing our Values and Ethics Framework, we’re also reviewing Transport Canada’s Integrity System. We hired an external firm to assess the current system as a whole.

In their final report, the firm made four (4) recommendations:

• clarify the integrity system’s structure and improve how the actors coordinate with each other
• take a proactive approach to communicating about, and training on integrity, values and ethics
• improve how we measure performance and share data on integrity, values and ethics, and
• consider adding an ombuds function

Over the course of the coming months, we will look at reviewing our internal structures to support a more integrated system, with supporting communications and training.

We will also establish an Ombuds Office to show senior management’s commitment to providing an impartial, confidential and safe space for employees to raise workplace concerns.

We expect that the funding, operating model, communications, tools, and processes will be in place so we can launch the office by the end of March 2025.

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)?

Transport Canada has developed a comprehensive Values and Ethics Learning Strategy to address department-specific training needs. The strategy was informed by consultations across the department during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

The strategy will help us use a sustainable and flexible approach to values and ethics learning and give employees access to a range of learning opportunities.

We’re prioritizing and sequencing segments of our Values and Ethics Discussion Series Guide based on feedback from national consultations, and first focusing on foundational learning of public sector values.

Our next areas of focus for the guide will align with key values and ethics-related risk areas, including 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)?

We held national consultations in fall 2023 which used Mentimeter (an online interactive presentation and engagement tool) to solicit feedback from participants.

This approach helped us identify some knowledge and process gaps related to values and ethics, and solutions we could use to address them.

The launch of our Discussion Series Guide in April 2024 has been very well received by managers and employees at all levels as a foundational discussion tool.

We have heard from across the department that there is a strong appetite for more tools and products that will support discussions on values and ethics throughout an employee’s time at Transport Canada.

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)?

Increase in the number of conflict of interest declarations and/or reports of wrongdoing in the workplace:

• To improve all employees’ understanding on potential conflicts of interest, Transport Canada is building an automated conflict of interest self-assessment tool to help employees determine whether they need to submit a conflict of interest declaration
• Once launched, all employees will be required to complete a self-assessment. Records of all self-assessments will be kept and reviewed every year

Increase in number of employees who take values and ethics training:

• Completion rate for mandatory training from the Canada School of Public Service
• Completion rates for other values and ethics-related training from the Canada School of Public Service
• Number of employees who participate in values and ethics discussions with their manager or executive

Public Service Employee Survey results on values, ethics and integrity for the department compared to the overall public service.

We may also use pulse surveys on specific values and ethics-related risk areas (like social media and conflict of interest) to inform future departmental actions.

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)?

In the spring of 2023, we began work to renew Transport Canada’s Values and Ethics Framework. This project includes a workplan that has a number of short (6 months), medium (9 to 12 months) and long-term (12+ months) initiatives, based on the feedback we received via national consultations undertaken and recommendations from the Deputy Ministers’ Task Team on Values and Ethics’ Report.

The Task Team’s report included five (5) specific areas that we will focus on and are described further below.

Public service as a calling

We have been having meaningful conversations with employees at all levels of the organization to better understand the ethical challenges and risk areas they confront.

As part of our working renewing our Values and Ethics Framework, we’ve identified an opportunity to refocus our attention on appropriate V&E governance structures to discuss best practices and cross-cutting issues.

We will also be revisiting our Values and Ethics Advisory Committee’s mandate.

Stewards of the public trust

Through national consultations, we’ve identified “training and awareness” as a key part of renewing our Values and Ethics Framework. We need to develop more tools so managers and employees can continue to have real and meaningful conversations on values and ethics.

Employees specifically identified social media and AI as challenges. This will be an area that we will consider as we update our policy instruments, tools and guidance.

Respect for people is a key driver of change

At Transport Canada, we’re committed to:

• being a values-based organization where we advance diversity and inclusion initiatives like the Call to Action to Address Racism
• working with equity-deserving communities and networks on values and ethics,  and
• helping managers have meaningful discussions on our equity, diversity and inclusion commitments, including the importance of reconciliation

Values and accountability

• We need more diverse communication channels and onboarding tools tied to values and ethics
• We’re reviewing and refreshing our current policy instruments (taking into account our Values and Ethics Code) to align them with our current and future realities as well as any new direction coming from central agencies
• When possible, we’re automating and updating processes so reporting systems are in place to help teams uphold values and ethics every day and measure their progress

Individual action and collective responsibility

• Having a stronger Values and Ethics Program in place will help us make sure that our employees can properly balance a focus on values and ethics with our daily work supporting a safe, secure and environmentally responsible transportation system.

Next steps

In the coming weeks, our Values and Ethics Office will launch a conflict of interest validation exercise to re-assess previously declared outside employment/outside activities and working with relatives situations.

We will also focus on a series of initiatives that will address some of the themes raised during our national consultations in 2023:

• updating our values and ethics policy instruments
• developing educational tools and creating learning opportunities to help all employees uphold their personal accountability on values and ethics
• modernizing and digitizing outdated processes around conflict of interest
• restructuring governance on values and ethics, and
• launching values and ethics-focused monitoring and reporting tools

We have also added a V&E reminder to our Work Arrangement Agreements. Employees must read and attest to the statement when filling out their agreement.