Anti-Corruption, Public Confidence, and Corporate Transparency

Anti-corruption, public confidence, and corporate transparency are interconnected principles necessary for building trust in both government and the private sector. Anti-corruption efforts aim to prevent and address unethical practices, ensuring that public resources are used responsibly, and that decision-making is fair and accountable. Promoting corporate transparency means that companies openly share information about their operations, financial practices, and governance, reducing opportunities for corruption. This builds public confidence, as Canadians can trust that organizations are acting in their best interests.

Activities related to this theme:

Transparency in government spending

Beneficial ownership disclosure and corporate transparency

Strengthening and enforcing anti-corruption and compliance regulations

More Transparency when Public Service Positions are Created and Abolished

By Anonymous

5 Jul 2025

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With potential workforce adjustments and significant changes to the Federal Public Service on the horizon, the existing requirements to disclose information about position reclassifications are too narrow to meet the information needs of Canadians, Tax Payers, and Public Servants. The requirement for a disclosure should be expanded to include when positions are created, and when a position is abolished. This captures more of the change in the structure of the Public Service overtime. This should be communicated together on the existing systems for reclassification disclosure.The information in the disclosures for new positions, reclassified positions, or abolished positions should be expanded to include:

National Occupational Classification (NOC) code;
job description;
Branch/division;
Geographic location;
Official languages requirement
security requirements; and
Supervisor’s position number, group and level.
(FOR ABOLISHED) Vacant Position: Yes/NO - ie. was anyone in the position

This information should be available since it is already required to be sent to TBS in the PCIS system each week.

Top 2 Ideas

Stronger Conflict of Interest and Lobbying legislation, including releasing open data on a schedule on investigations

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Report Lobbying in Real-Time (Open Data). Lobbying Registry needs to expand what information is released so that it is more clear what is discussed. Define Lobbying and broaden the description Easier Access to Lobbying Information Cover More people and organizations under LA Specifically address risks of hidden lobbying Ban Former Officials from Lobbying a longer time period Track Gifts and Benefits- clearer guidance that is public Empower the Commissioner: The Commissioner of Lobbying and the Ethics Commissioner should have more independence and power to investigate and punish violations. Ask for Public Feedback: The government should regularly ask the public for their opinions on how well the Lobbying and Conflict of Interest Acts are working. This could help find problems and fix them faster. - Public consultation! Educate the Public: Many people don’t fully understand lobbying or conflict of interest rules. Running public awareness campaigns would help people recognize when Simplify the Guidelines in plain language

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Show Action on Fentanyl & Honour Promises to Allies and Trade Partners on Beneficial Ownership

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Canada has done the tricky legislative and regulatory work required to implement the national public beneficial ownership register. Canada committed to adopting the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard and reassured our allies and trade partners that Canada will use the international standard - https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-177/hansard#Int-12130517 Canada has a poor reputation in the OECD, G7, and WTO for our failure to prevent money laundering, and failure to adopt international standards on OCDS,BODS, - https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Mutualevaluations/Fur-canada-2021.html. NGOs such as Transparency International and Publish What You Pay, have repeatedly said “Money laundering is the lifeline for criminal activity, the fentanyl crisis, and foreign interference. Canada will soon have a powerful tool that will strengthen the integrity of its economy.” In the Fall of 2025 Canada will undergo an assessment and evaluation from the FATF with world bank and IMF participation. https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/fatf.html#:~:text=Jun%202016-,Nov%202025,-Jun%202026 This is also part of Canada's obligations as a signatory to the Open Data Charter. The main focus of Principle 5 of the ODC is to ensure that information that is published as a result of transparency or anticorruption laws is released as open data. https://opendatacharter.org/principles/#:~:text=Ensure%20that%20information%20published%20as%20a%20result%20of%C2%A0transparency%C2%A0or%C2%A0anticorruption%C2%A0laws%20is%20released%20as%20open%20data%3B Let's get our BODS setup before then. We can do this in a weekend by downloading the software developed by more mature partner nations from https://github.com/openownership/visualisation-tool, and loading in the data that ISED has been mismanaging for the past ~18 months since Bill C-42 received royal assent. If Canada can get this 4-5 hours of work done by the November FATF visit, then we show our allies we are serious about transparency, and the fentanyl crisis.

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