A Customs Broker Member ("Member") owes certain duties to the public, the Government of Canada, its employees, other Members and shall act at all times with:
- a) responsibility for and fidelity to public needs;
- b) competence through devotion to high ideals and professional integrity.
A Member shall:
- a) provide opportunity for professional development and advancement of its employees, allowing them to maintain, at all times, the standards of competence expressed by the academic and experience requirements for admission to the profession and for continuation as a Customs Broker, and extend the effectiveness of the profession through the interchange of customs brokerage information and experience;
- b) endeavour at all times to enhance the public regard for the Customs Brokerage profession by extending the public knowledge thereof and discouraging untrue, unfair or exaggerated statements with respect to the practice of Customs Brokerage.
A Member shall act in customs brokerage matters for clients as a faithful agent or trustee and shall regard as confidential information obtained by the firm as to the business affairs, technical methods or processes of clients and avoid or disclose a conflict of interest that might influence its actions or judgement.
A Member shall:
- a) not commit an act discreditable to the customs brokerage profession;
- b) while promoting its professional interests and those of its clients, not compromise its duties or obligations to the Government of Canada;
- c) not maliciously injure the reputation or business of another Member or a Customs Broker;
- d) not attempt to gain advantage over other Members or Customs Brokers by providing personal compensation in securing customs brokerage work;
- e) uphold the principle of adequate compensation for customs brokerage services, within acceptable business practices.
A Member shall:
- a) maintain the honour and integrity of the Customs Brokers profession and, without fear or favour, expose before the proper tribunals of the regulatory authority any incompetent, unethical, illegal or unfair conduct or practice of a Member or Customs Broker which involves the reputation, dignity or honour of Customs Brokers;
- b) undertake only such work as its employees are competent to perform by virtue of their training and experience and shall, where it would be in the best interests of a client, engage or advise the client to engage other specialists.
A Member shall ensure that each member of the firm shall adhere to the preceding principles and shall:
- a) act at all times with fairness and loyalty to their associates, employers, clients, subordinates and employees;
- b) regard their honesty to public welfare as paramount;
- c) not express publicly, or while they are serving as a witness before a court, commission or other tribunal, opinions on customs brokerage matters that are not founded on adequate knowledge and honest conviction;
- d) endeavour, where applicable, to keep their certificate of qualification permanently displayed in their place of business;
- e) inform their employer of any business connections or interests of which their employer would have a reasonable expectation to be made aware;
- f) not, in the course of their duties on behalf of their employer, hold, receive, bargain for or acquire any fee or remuneration or benefit without their employer's knowledge and consent.
The Members will comply with the Code of Ethics of the Society, and shall endeavour to observe the spirit as well as the letter of the Code of Ethics.