A report from the department of public safety states Canada is experiencing “increased perceptions of corruption.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the document cited no specific cases but noted “establishing a strong ethical tone at the top may be a useful tactic.”“The country has experienced a relatively consistent drop in its score over the past two decades indicating increased perceptions of corruption,” said the report Methods of Preventing Corruption: A Review and Analysis of Select Approaches. In its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, it acknowledged the group Transparency International has repeatedly downgraded Canada over “perceived levels of public sector corruption.”“Transparency International attributes this drop in score to the presence of major political scandals, concern surrounding money laundering taking place in Canada, criticism from international organizations regarding Canadian whistleblower protections and outdated Access to Information legislation,” wrote the public safety department.“Given the vast number of social and economic impacts of corruption combined with Canada’s declining score on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index equating to increased perceptions of corruption within Canada, preventing corruption has become an increasingly important topic,” said the report.“Organizational culture starts at the top,” wrote researchers. “Establishing a strong ethical tone at the top may be a useful tactic for organizations to implement in an effort to prevent corruption.”Canada ranks 14th in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index after Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Australia.Canada was ranked as high as ninth until the 2020 SNC-Lavalin Group scandal, during which the Prime Minister's Office tried to stop a fraud prosecution against the Québec engineering company.SNC-Lavalin later admitted guilt in a Québec Provincial Court and received a fine of $280 million.“Gaining and retaining public trust remains an ongoing challenge for institutions in Canada,” then-Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion wrote in his 2020 Annual Report to Parliament. “This is evidenced by data published by credible international organizations that provide a broad indication of levels of public trust.”“When transparency allows light to be shined on instances of conflict of interest, no matter how minor they might be, the public trust tends to erode,” wrote Dion. “At the same time, the more issues of public integrity become salient, the better the public understands that safeguarding democratic institutions is a perpetual endeavour.”
