Citation

Fernando S. Can. Public Admin. 2007; 50(3): 437-448.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Institute of Public Administration of Canada, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1754-7121.2007.tb02136.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Ethics has often been of central academic and policy concern but has also emerged as a central public and media issue in Canadian politics. In Toronto, there have been a number of scandals over the past few years that have brought the discussion of ethics in the municipal public service to the forefront as well. This article analyses some of the ethical problems that municipal public servants face and the institutional culture that allows ethics violations to occur. These are illustrated by the Toronto computer-leasing and external contracts scandals, which were the subject of an inquiry, beginning in 2002, and subsequent report by Madam Justice Denise E. Bellamy, in 2005. The author looks at the case of Wanda Liczyk to illustrate how the decision-making process can be corrupted and how this can lead to loss of public trust and inefficient and inequitable government. The challenge for urban governance is to create a municipal public service that is professional and accountable and that follows an ethical public-service model based on ethical codes, leadership and an understanding of underlying ethical principles. This would help regain public trust and maintain a public service that is efficient and therefore better able to handle the increasing challenges of local government.