CIDA’S leadership role

Re: CIDA’s approach to ‘loyalty’ could send a chill through PS, Jan. 31.

The Canadian International Development Agency is proud of the Code of Values and Ethics that was developed for, and in collaboration with, its employees.

It aspires to the highest level of values for the Public Service of Canada, and underscores the importance of remaining impartial in the delivery of the Government of Canada’s programming and messaging.

Public servants understand that serving the government impartially is essential to the strength of our Canadian democracy.

We are bound to the concept of “duty of loyalty,” long a fundamental value of the Canadian public service and an important condition of employment.

Public servants must act in a manner that allows ministers to maintain full confidence in the loyalty and trustworthiness of those who serve them. Public servants at CIDA understand that to undermine that trust is to limit the government’s effectiveness.

All Canadians are entitled to freedom of speech. It is a right that Canada, in some cases through CIDA, works to bring to parts of the world that do not share our good fortune. For public servants, however, the right to freedom of expression must be balanced with their responsibility to maintain an impartial and effective public service — a principle also upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Canadians should be proud that CIDA has taken a leadership role in instituting a code of values and ethics that reaches for the highest standard, and that reflects the pride, integrity, and commitment to excellence of the Public Service of Canada.

MARGARET BIGGS,

President of CIDA