Political Science 201, Fall Term, September to December, 2004 and 2005

Government Ethics Law

As liberal democratic societies have grown more complex and fear of the power and size of the state has also increased, there has been a proliferation of laws related to ethics in government. Among such laws are those related to conflict of interest, lobbying, access to information, protection of privacy, and fairness in administration. This course examined the nature and growth of such laws. It was my great privilege to have designed and taught what I believe to be the first lecture course in government ethics law in Canada. Years ago I presented a seminar course on this topic in the Faculty of Law at University of British Columbia.

It is unclear whether or not this course will be offered again at the University of Western Ontario.

I can say without a doubt that I enjoyed working with the students who took this course and wish them all the best in their future endeavours. I hope that in some small way this course has touched them and been useful in considering what is a foundational issue in government and public administration, namely its ethical conduct and how such conduct is to be promoted and enforced.
For those interested in the topic, I have recently completed a book on government ethics law which is available from Canada Law Book: The Law of Government Ethics: Federal, Ontario and British Columbia

As well, I will continue to maintain my own web site on ethics law as I have done for many years and hope that you visit me on line at:

Government Ethics Law in Canada

G.J. Levine, Barrister and Solicitor

Note that the picture of Parliament's Peace Tower and Clock is reproduced with express permission of the Library of Parliament.