Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/985397
www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2018 21 Anti-BriBery with impunity and without fear of public disclosure, let alone prosecution. The very fact that that we now have high ranking public officials, senior corporate executives and well-established companies being named, shamed and prosecuted for unethical behaviour is a clear sign that the fight against corruption is evolving in the right direction. More aggressive enforcement action, new laws, as well as the growing demand for greater transparency and accountabil- ity around the world is having a visible im- pact. Two key factors that are driving this change are the growing push-back from civil society, along with the power and im- mediacy of social media platforms. These platforms are empowering civil society to organize and people to report instantly on corrupt and unethical conduct. Con- sequently, it has become much harder for public officials and companies to hide their corrupt activities or control the narrative. In this new and changing environment, it is likely that the corruption headlines will continue for some time, and we will see more disclosures like the Panama and Paradise Papers occur. The Millennial generation is also play- ing a critical role in changing the business culture. This next generation of business leaders are much less accepting of unethi- cal behaviour and, crucially, are connected through social media to countries and people being victimized by corruption. As a result, those Millennials are more likely to speak-up and report unethical and cor- rupt behaviour. Organizations who fail to have a robust compliance program, which includes an effective whistleblowing program, will see Millennials report wrongdoing to authori- ties or leak information to the web. In my previous role with the RCMP, I always warned managers that if I got a complaint of wrongdoing by an employee, it meant that they and their company had failed in implementing an effective anti- corruption compliance program and ethi- cal business culture. Changing business environment To address the growing demand to clamp down on corruption, a growing number To address the growing demand to clamp down on corruption, a growing number of countries are enacting anti-corruption laws that force companies to take notice and take action. Many countries have now implemented or are looking at enacting "failure to prevent bribery" laws that put a legal onus on companies to have adequate anti-corruption measures.