In 1867 Canada was born as a new nation dedicated to promoting 'peace, order, and good government'. For about one hundred years we seem to have been pretty satisfied with our performance. In the past thirty, however, even though we seem to have held onto the first two ideals, there has been an
ever-growing suspicion that the third is slipping away from us. The discovery of new depths in public cynicism about politicians and politics is no longer news. We don't seem to trust the people we elect to run our governments, and we only vote for them because the alternatives seem even worse. That
is, if we bother to vote at all.
In A Question of Ethics, the authors went directly to the public in a broad-based survey to try and map out more precisely the contours of acceptability in political behaviour. Chapter One discusses the basic concepts and principles of political ethics and includes ethical rules, such as they are,
that apply to public officials in Canada. Chapter Two expands on this background and lays out the methodological and analytical framework that guides the rest of the book. The next four chapters examine in detail a particular type of problematic political behaviour. In Chapter Three, the authors
jump directly into the murky and confusing waters of 'Conflict of Interest'. Chapter Four examines 'Gifts and Gains', Chapter Five covers 'Patronage', and Chapter Six covers 'Lying'.
In each chapter the authors look at examples of each behaviour, the forces that pressure officials to indulge in or avoid them, and arguments that have been made to defend or rationalize their use. What will emerge from these discussions and some concluding thoughts is a better understanding of how
our fellow Canadians feel about political ethics, and how those feelings apply in specific areas.
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [216]-230) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 172/.2
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 21
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 0195413539 9780195435252
- LCCN
- JA79
- LCCN Item number
- W27 1998eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOTU
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xii, 232 p. :)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00223288 (OCoLC)753300348 (CaOOCEL)432071
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOTU
Table of Contents
- TabIe of Contents 6
- List of Figures 7
- List of Tables 10
- Preface 11
- Introduction: A QUESTION OF ETHICS 14
- Chapter One: POLITICAL ETHICS IN CANADA—THEORY AND PRACTICE 24
- Chapter Two: DRAWING THE ETHICAL MAP 46
- Chapter Three: CONFLICT OF INTEREST 70
- Chapter Four: GIFTS AND GAINS 104
- Chapter Five: PATRONAGE 134
- Chapter Six: LYING 164
- Conclusion: CANADIANS SPEAK OUT 200
- Appendix: THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 212
- Notes 229
- Works Cited 239
- Index 244
- A 244
- B 244
- C 244
- E 244
- G 244
- H 244
- I 244
- L 244
- M 245
- P 245
- Q 245
- R 245
- S 245
- V 245