WHEREAS the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (the Institute) is committed to the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability in all its operations, internal relations, and governance structures, and the Institute’s mandate is to provide the highest quality representation to its members, both collectively and individually, in particular by acting with honesty and fairness;
WHEREAS each member of the Board of Directors must conduct his or her personal affairs in a manner that preserves confidence in the Institute’s integrity, objectivity, and impartiality, and must avoid not only actual conflicts of interest, but also the appearance of a conflict, and that the Institute’s Conflict of Interest Policy provides guidance and guidelines for addressing actual or perceived conflicts of interest for the Institute’s Board of Directors;
WHEREAS the Institute currently has a Dispute Resolution and Discipline Policy (“DRDP”) that includes procedures for resolving disputes among members and for addressing allegations of misconduct, and that this policy was adopted with the clearly stated intention “to depoliticize the process by removing complaints from the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors”;
WHEREAS the Institute also promotes the resolution of disputes through dialogue, cooperation, respect, and understanding, including through informal interventions, coaching, mediation, facilitated discussions, and other non-adversarial means;
WHEREAS existing internal procedures, while useful, do not always provide members with an impartial and confidential avenue for expressing their concerns regarding the very functioning of the Institute, including decisions made by staff, elected representatives, or committees, in a manner distinct from the formal complaint and disciplinary processes;
WHEREAS many labour unions, professional organizations, and public sector institutions in Canada and internationally have established independent ombudsperson offices to provide an impartial, confidential, and accessible forum to address concerns raised by members regarding the organization’s actions or inactions; and
WHEREAS the Statement of Ethical Principles of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsmen (FCO) states that an ombudsperson must be held to the highest standards of independence, impartiality, fairness, confidentiality, and credibility, and must uphold the values of justice, fairness, respect, empathy, honesty, integrity, and transparency;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Institute, in its operating budget, set aside the necessary funds to create and maintain a permanent Ombudsperson position within its staff. The job description and responsibilities for this position will be determined in accordance with current staffing procedures.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Institute commits to completing this process within an accelerated timeframe, no later than the next AGM in 2027.
Legal: BL 13.2.1 – The AGM role is to set policy and the budget of the Institute (BL 14.1.9).
This resolution goes further and into the operations of the Institute by establishing an Ombuds within the staff, allocating unspecified funds to be completed by AGM 2027.
The CNCA assigns management of the corporation’s affairs to the Board of Directors (see also BL 15.2.1). The resolution leaves the Board no apparent discretion over whether this staff position is affordable. How it fits within the staffing plan or how it will be funded.
The resolution is difficult to reconcile with the CNCA and our BL.
It would be better from a governance perspective if the resolution orders the Board to cost an Ombuds person within the staffing plan and develop a cost proposal to report to the next AGM.
Finance: Cost of Position, assuming G10, would be costed at $225,000 to 250,000 which includes salary, fringe benefits, etc.
RSC: No Comment