APLA Advocacy From Complaints to Cookies Louise White & Frances Newman APLA 2014

Library and Archives Canada A Tale of Two Codes Louise White, APLA 2014

Quick Recap ➢ March 13, 2013 journalist Margaret Munro uploads a new Code of Conduct to Scribd.com ➢ The Code had been in force since January ➢ James Turk of CAUT and others criticize the Code in a National Post article on March 15

An Institution in Trouble ➢ Concern for LAC already present ○ Severe budget cuts ○ Skill level of senior administrators questioned ➢ Along comes a Code which restricts LAC staff engaging in professional discourse

APLA Resolution Put forward by Peter Glenister, OGM, May 17, 2013: Whereas: Code includes measures which stop LAC professionals from communicating about their work; LAC responsible for preserving Canada’s documentary heritage facilitated through cooperation which demands experts be allowed to speak publicly Resolved: to preserve public’s right to access expert knowledge; request ICC include LAC among agencies to be investigated for policies and actions that restrict government scientist from communicating with the media and Canadians

Homework ➢ Learn about the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada ○ established in 1983 under the Access to Information Act Canada’s freedom of information legislation – to assist individuals and organizations who believe that federal institutions have not respected their rights under the Act Access to Information Act ○p rovide arms-length oversight of the federal government’s access to information practices ○ encourages and assists federal institutions to adopt approaches to information-sharing that meet the objectives of the Act, and advocates for greater access to information in Canada. From:

Approach to ICC ➢ Had to take a slightly different approach than anticipated ➢ Was not citing a breach of the Act ➢ Wanted ICC to be made “officially” aware of Code and the concerns it raised

Encourage and Assist ➢ Careful not to use word “complaint” ➢ Rather, indicated possibility of shared concern ➢ Wasn’t sure, at all, how ICC would respond ➢ OICC used the word “complaint” assigning weight, and an investigator, to our request

File # Summarized by investigator In your complaint, you submitted that the Code of Conduct “severely limits the freedom of expression of national library staff.” You also alleged that the Code limits what the library staff is entitled to say in the conduct of their professional activities which further affects their ability to carry out their responsibilities towards the Canadian public. According to the complaint, the Code of Conduct restricts professional and personal activities which could have the effect of impeding “public awareness of, and ultimately public access to, the vast store of Canadian heritage materials and officials government documents held at LAC.” Consequently, you requested that our office reviews the Code of Conduct and shares any concerns with LAC. Then: Over the course of the investigation, LAC revised the Code of Conduct that was under complaint.

Next Phase From the Investigator: In light of this revised version of the Code of Conduct and the fact that your complaint raised concerns about the Code that is no longer in effect, I am writing to inquire whether you would be interested in settling the complaint. Recording a complaint as “settled” means that the complaint was settled to the satisfaction of all parties without the need for our office to make a finding (i.e. ‘well-founded’ or ‘not well-founded’). In order to settle a complaint, we require consents of all parties. APLA: Wanted to establish that concerns we raised were no longer present in the new code.

Style & Substance Version 1 Integrity: Public servants shall serve the public interest by *acting at all times with integrity and in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny, an obligation that may not be fully met by simply acting within the law *acting in such a way as to maintain their employer’s trust Version 2 Integrity: By applying and promoting high ethical standards, we maintain and enhance public confidence in the honesty, fairness and impartiality of the federal public service. At LAC we act in such a way as to maintain the trust of our employer and the public.

Style & Substance Version 1 In any personal activities employees should take care not to represent themselves as speaking on behalf of or as an expert...and should always bear in mind their duty of loyalty and the risk of real, apparent or potential conflict of interest or conflict of duties. Version 2 When a real, apparent or potential conflict of interest occurs between an employee’s private affairs and professional responsibilities, the employee must complete {a declaration form}. In general, we should not have to request authorization or make a declaration regarding our private affairs. However where there is doubt...

Settlement ➢ The Code which was the basis for the complaint was no longer in effect ➢ The revised Code was substantially more respectful in tone and omitted the most alarming statements ➢ Checked with Peter Glenister, then settled

An Interesting Encounter ➢ While at OLA noticed that Fabien Lengelle, Director General of Services, LAC was speaking on re-engaging with libraries ➢ Introduced myself and remarked on the improved Code - “Oh that was you! ➢ Noted that both Codes were “internal documents” ➢ LAC - Represented that both “said the same thing” ➢ APLA - “Not really” ➢ Codes a case study for library administrators

Enough Complaining Bring on the Cookies