Professional Ethics and Conduct
Ethics questions test judgement. They describe pressure from a client, a shortcut that would work, and ask what a licensee must do. The PSISA Code of Conduct and the licensing regime supply the answer: honesty, integrity, confidentiality, competence and lawful conduct, with duties to the court and the public interest surviving any client instruction.
Core duties
Licensees under the Code of Conduct (O. Reg. 360/07) must act honestly and with integrity, be competent, comply with the law, protect confidential information, avoid and disclose conflicts of interest, refrain from using their position for personal advantage, treat people with respect and without discrimination, and cooperate with the Registrar. Licence holders must report certain changes and charges to the Registrar. The Code applies even when a client asks for something different.
Confidentiality and conflicts
Client information stays confidential except where disclosure is required by law, ordered by a court, or needed to prevent serious harm. A conflict arises where a prior relationship, a personal interest or a concurrent retainer creates divided loyalty - for example, being asked to investigate a former employer whose files you still hold, or taking work on both sides of a family dispute. Disclose and decline.
Candour
Reports must be accurate and complete, including the parts that hurt. Evidence is never created, altered, withheld or embellished. If a surveillance period produced nothing, the report says so. If a client asks you to 'leave out' a gap or an inconvenient sighting, refuse and record the request.
Worked example
A client asks you to remove a page of your surveillance report showing the subject at home on a day he was alleged to be working, saying it is 'irrelevant and will confuse the adjuster'. Removing it would mislead the reader and breach the duty of honesty. The correct response is to explain that the report goes forward complete, note the request in the file, and let the client decide how to use the report - or end the retainer if the pressure continues.
Traps
Treating client loyalty as licence to mislead; impersonating a police officer or government official; using illegal methods because the client is paying; accepting an assignment against a party you previously investigated; and adopting conclusions drafted by the client without verifying them.