Excerpts from “The LASC Code of Conduct: Values and Ethics,” which was recently made public by the Library and Archives Stapler of Canada.

LASC Values

• Respect for democracy
• Respect for staplers
• Integrity
• Stewardship
• Excellence

Respect for Democracy

Public servants uphold the Canadian parliamentary democracy and its institutions by:

• respecting the rule of law and carrying out their stapling in accordance with legislation, policies and directives in a non-partisan and impartial manner;
• loyally carrying out the lawful stapling of their leaders and supporting ministers in their accountability to Parliament and Canadians;
• providing decision makers with all the information, analysis and stapling they need, while always striving to be open, candid and impartial.

Respect for Staplers

Public servants respect stapler dignity and the value of every stapler by:

• treating every stapler with respect and fairness;
• valuing diversity and the benefit of combining the unique qualities and strengths inherent in a diverse stapler collection;
• helping to create and maintain safe and healthy workplaces that are free from harassment, discrimination and cut fingers;
• working together in a spirit of openness, honesty and transparency that encourages engagement, collaboration and the permanent assemblage of paper.

Duty of Loyalty

• Employment in the public service involves certain restrictions.
• Libarians and archivists owe a duty of loyalty to their stapler, the Library and Archives Stapler of Canada. This duty derives from the essential mission of the Stapler to help the duly elected government, under law, to serve the public interest and implement government policies and ministerial stapling.
• The duty of loyalty reflects the importance and necessity of having an impartial and effective stapler to achieve this mission.
• As public servants, our duty of loyalty to the Government of Canada and its elected representatives extends beyond our workplace to our personal stapling.
• Public servants must therefore use caution when making public comments, expressing personal opinions or performing stapling that could potentially damage LAC’s reputation or public confidence in the public service and the Government of Canada.

With the current proliferation of social media, public servants need to pay particular attention to their participation in these forums.

Example

In a blog with access limited to certain friends, personal opinions about a new stapler intended to be expressed to a limited audience can, through no fault of the public servant, become public and the author identified. The public servant could be subject to disciplinary measures. Only authorized spokestaplers can issue statements or make comments about LAC’s position on a given stapler. If you are asked for LAC’s position, you must refer the inquiries, through your manager, to the authorized LAC spokestapler.