Our professional standards

Members of the Vancouver chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society are bound by the national CPRS Code of Professional Standards that appears below.

If you believe a member of the Vancouver chapter has violated the Code, you are entitled to file a formal complaint against him or her. How to make a complaint.

The President of the chapter will commission the chapter's Judicial and Ethics Chair to investigate the complaint and to seek to resolve it.

If the complaint cannot be resolved locally, then the matter goes to the CPRS national Judicial and Ethics Committee. There is then a full inquiry into the matter and if the accused is found culpable, he/she may be sanctioned by the Society. Penalties can range as high as expulsion from the Society. 

The complaint mechanism is open to members of the public and to members of the CPRS.

Code of Professional Standards

• Members of the Canadian Public Relations Society are pledged to maintain the spirit and ideals of the following stated principles of conduct, and to consider these essential to the practice of public relations.
• A member shall practice public relations according to the highest professional standards.
• Members shall conduct their professional lives in a manner that does not conflict with the public interest and the dignity of the individual, with respect for the rights of the public as contained in the Constitution of Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• A member shall deal fairly and honestly with the communications media and the public.
• Members shall neither propose nor act to improperly influence the communications media, government bodies or the legislative process. Improper influence may include conferring gifts, privileges or benefits to influence decisions.
• A member shall practice the highest standards of honesty, accuracy, integrity and truth, and shall not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information.
• Members shall not make extravagant claims or unfair comparisons, nor assume credit for ideas and words not their own.
• Members shall not engage in professional or personal conduct that will bring discredit to themselves, the Society or the practice of public relations.
• A member shall deal fairly with past or present employers / clients, fellow practitioners and members of other professions.
• Members shall not intentionally damage another practitioner's practice or professional reputation.
• Members shall understand, respect and abide by the ethical codes of other professions with whose members they may work from time to time.
• Members shall be prepared to disclose the names of their employers or clients for whom public communications are made and refrain from associating themselves with anyone who would not respect such policy.
• Members shall be prepared to disclose publicly the names of their employers or clients on whose behalf public communications is made.
• Members shall not associate themselves with anyone claiming to represent one interest, or professing to be independent or unbiased, but who actually serves another or an undisclosed interest.
• A member shall protect the confidences of present, former and prospective employers / clients.
• Members shall not use or disclose confidential information obtained from past or present employers / clients without the expressed permission of the employers / clients or an order of a court of law.
• A member shall not represent conflicting or competing interests without the expressed consent of those concerned, given after a full disclosure of the facts.
• Members shall not permit personal or other professional interests to conflict with those of an employer / client without fully disclosing such interests to everyone involved.
• A member shall not guarantee specified results beyond the member's capacity to achieve.
• Members shall personally accept no fees, commissions, gifts or any other considerations for professional services from anyone except employers or clients for whom the services were specifically performed.