Nunavut’s new ethics officer ‘excited’ to get to work

Nunavut has a new ethics officer, the first to be a resident of the territory.

Joseph Murdoch-Flowers was appointed to the role Tuesday, according to an announcement from the Human Resources Department.

Murdoch-Flowers takes over from Justice Sheila MacPherson, who now sits on the Northwest Territories Supreme Court. Nunavut’s first ethics officer was Jeffrey Schnoor, who filled the role from Manitoba until he retired in 2022.

Murdoch-Flowers said he’s honoured to serve in the role.

Joseph Murdoch-Flowers told Nunatsiaq News he’s honoured to have been appointed to be Nunavut’s ethics officer.  (Photo courtesy of Joseph Murdoch-Flowers)

“I’m excited to get started on the work,” he said Wednesday, speaking by phone from Iqaluit.

Other than his articling studies, Murdoch-Flowers’ entire legal career has been spent in Nunavut, he said.

Originally from Labrador, he graduated from McGill University and worked for a judge in Ottawa before becoming a lawyer. He has worked in the National Litigation Division for the Government of Canada’s Department of Justice and in civil litigation with the Legal Services Board of Nunavut.

He also served as acting senior justice of the peace for the Nunavut Court of Justice and as a lawyer with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

The ethics officer works in response to the public service, dealing with disclosures of wrongdoing from public servants, Murdoch-Flowers explained.

“My role is to give advice to public servants about matters under the Public Service Act,” he said.

“It will also be to provide assistance and guidance to government departments when they are looking at setting up their own internal disclosure processes.”

Murdoch-Flowers will receive disclosures on wrongdoing directly from public servants and conduct investigations where appropriate.

He’ll also have a role in reviewing cases where a public servant is alleging reprisals for allegations of wrongdoing, he said.

“Public servants need to have confidence that they have ways of dealing with wrongdoing that happens within the government,” he said.

“It’s important for public servants to have different options available to them for voicing their concerns around wrongdoing. The ethics officer is one of those avenues for those sorts of disclosures.”

Murdoch-Flowers was appointed for a five-year term.

“My goal is really to maintain the confidence of the public service, [and] that I’m a fair, reasonable, balanced, person to have in this role,” he said.

Human Resources Minister Margaret Nakashuk praised Murdoch-Flowers’ “extensive legal experience” in a statement included in this week’s announcement of the appointment.

“His broad legal experience is matched by his work in restorative justice, an essential ingredient for the territorial ethics officer,” she said.