CASE STUDY SYNOPSIS

Hot Docs for Continuing Professional Education Documentary Film Whispering Truth to Power.

The case study depicts the negative wide-ranging effects of corruption on South African society. Some people might be tempted to think that this is an isolated problem, to be encountered in African countries only, whereas the reality is that it is not. Some of these effects are fairly obvious, while others require explanation. 

The documentary film Whispering Truth to Power chronicles the story of Thuli Madonsela in her last year in public office as Public Protector in South Africa. After her appointment in 2009 to the office of Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela quickly commanded nationwide respect and admiration for her ethical work that helped neglected citizens and the poor. However, Madonsela faced severe backlash when she investigated the most powerful man in the country, President Jacob Zuma, who has been accused of massive illegal public spending on his private home. A bitter four-year battle sharply divided South Africa's political elite when Zuma refused to abide by Madonsela’s ruling and pay back public money. The film follows her last year serving as South Africa’s Public Protector and her dramatic race against time to complete her investigation in the face of violent protests, court interdicts, political and personal attacks, and death threats. The result is not only a portrait of a remarkably steadfast woman, but a deeper and more personal portrayal of her family and the difficulties they face while seeking justice in a country still coming to terms with its apartheid past. 

The case study shows the wide-ranging negative impact of lacks of ethics and corruption on society in general – not just for Africans, but also for North Americans and Europeans as noted by the United Nations, such as: undermining the rule of law and democracy, or the rise of populism and political polarization, or the blatant undermining of human rights (equality – diversity and inclusion), undermining sustainable development goals, economic loss and inefficiency, poverty and inequality (including increase of gender and racial inequality), personal loss, intimidation and inconvenience, public and private sector dysfunctionality, failures in infrastructure, impunity and partial justice, etc. 

The case study (film) also focuses on the most pernicious negative effect of corrupt behaviors on South African post-Apartheid society that is the rise of racial inequality, the rise of populism, racism and sexism. The film shows that corruption in South Africa negatively accentuates the racial divide between white and black people in the South African post-Apartheid society and generally speaking affects Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

*More details on the main subject, Thulisile Nomkhosi "Thuli" Madonsela (at the bottom of page)

SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE CPD ACTIVITY:

• Overall, the course discusses best risk management practices to mitigate corrupt behaviors, and the promotion of professionalism and ethics for legal and business professionals.
• The course also discusses the importance of ethics and anti-corruption to preserve/promote Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) in a multicultural society – that one of the most pernicious negative wide-ranging effects of corrupt behaviors on society is the rise of populism that accentuates sexism and racism (racial and gender inequality).
• Help professionals understand the negative wide-ranging effects of corrupt behaviors on society and the importance of promotion of professionalism and ethics in public and private sector. 
• Discuss required behavior for public service and private sector executive arising from anti-corruption legislation such as Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. 
• Discuss the importance for lawyers drafting risk management corporate policies and anti-corruption compliance programs that are promoted by the firm’s senior management and understood by all employees in order to serve as best practices for analyzing legal risks and ethical dilemmas linked to corruption in domestic and international business transactions. 
• Reflect on the duty to maintain confidentiality, including justified and permitted disclosure (may include discussion of privilege) and corporate whistleblowing in the context of responding appropriately to client dishonesty, fraud or corrupt behavior.  

POST-SCREENING EXPERTS:

Noah Arshinoff
Lawyer, Business Consultant, Advocacy Strategist 

Part-time Professor of Anti-Corruption Law, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, and Senior Legal Counsel with a Federal Crown Corporation

Noah Arshinoff is a lawyer, anti-corruption and trade consultant and advocacy strategist with experience in the public, private, and association sectors. He has successfully advocated for amendments to various pieces of anti-corruption legislation and policy including strengthening Canada’s Integrity Framework, bolstering the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act and implementing Canada’s remediation agreement regime through an amendment to the Criminal Code. Noah has written numerous submissions to government and appeared before Parliamentary Committees to provide testimony on a wide range of issues.

On the International level, Noah has contributed to the implementation of anti-corruption commitments under the OECD’s monitoring program and helped bring policies in line with their requirements. He has consulted for the European Union on matters related to the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement and has worked on cross-border issues related to CUSMA. For the past several years, Noah has worked as Senior Counsel with a Federal Crown Corporation where he provides advice related to regulatory, legislative, compliance and monitoring issues in the financial sector.

As a thought leader in the field, Noah was selected as a knowledge partner for the 2020 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum to present a research paper on “Re-imagining Corporate Punishment on a Multilateral Scale”. He has since been selected to present further research on the topic of tackling corruption via Supranational mechanisms at an Anti-Corruption Symposium to be hosted by the World Bank Office of Suspension and Debarment, the OECD, and the American Society of International Law in April 2022.

Noah teaches Anti-Corruption law at the University of Ottawa in both English and French. His courses focus on the practical, real-world elements of combating corruption, including anti-money laundering. He combines this with also providing students with the legal background and analytical tools needed to navigate this complex area of law.

Noah sits on various legal and policy-oriented bodies such as Transparency International-Canada’s Legal Committee and the Canadian Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Team. He has written for various publications including National Magazine, CCCA Magazine and Canadian International Lawyer.

 

Lori-Ann Beausoleil, CPA, CA

Partner, Forensic Services, PwC Canada

National Forensic Services Leader for PwC Canada

Former Chief Inclusion Officer, PwC Canada

Lori-Ann Beausoleil is the National Forensic Services Leader for PwC Canada working in the Toronto office. She is also a member of the Deals Leadership Team and she is the Consulting and Deals Leader for the Canadian Real Estate practice.

As the National Leader of PwC’s Forensic Services practice, Lori-Ann has oversight of the firm’s ediscovery, investigations, data, disputes, anti-bribery and corruption, compliance reviews and corporate intelligence service offerings.

She is also involved with the development and execution of the Consulting and Deals Real Estate strategy.

Lori has managed and led a variety of crisis prevention assignments including developing anti-bribery and corruption (“ABC”) compliance programs and the related governance for several global clients; assisting organizations with ABC remediation programs to address known vulnerabilities; assisting with fraud and corruption vulnerability control and risk assessments; assisting companies with their remediation activities; and assisting companies with the execution of the related control audits to ensure ongoing compliance.  She also works closely with corporate boards to ensure they have the right information around the company’s ABC program in order to provide the requisite governance oversight. She works with global, international and national clients in a variety of industries, and is a subject matter controls expert for litigation purposes.

As the Consulting and Deals leader for the Canadian Real Estate practice, Lori-Ann provides a variety of consulting services to our clients, including financial and operational risk assessments, regulatory compliance and business control reviews, internal audit advisory services, and process improvement reviews. Her practice covers a variety of real estate corporations and REITs specializing in office, retail, multi-residential and senior housing. With more than 30 years of experience, Lori-Ann's client service style emphasizes a sound knowledge of the real estate industry and the related trends.

Lori-Ann began her career at PwC in 1988 and became a partner in 1999. She is a CA and holds a BComm from the University of Toronto. She is also a member of the Canadian Chartered Professional Accountants and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

 

Nicole Beausoleil

J.D. Candidate (2022), University of Ottawa – Faculty of Law 

Alison G. FitzGerald
Of Counsel

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Alison FitzGerald’s practice focuses on international arbitration and international trade and investment. She also regularly advises clients on regulatory matters such as economic sanctions, business ethics / anti‑corruption, and privacy, and represents clients in commercial and constitutional litigation. 

In the field of business ethics and anti-corruption she assists her clients with risk assessments, development of policies and compliance programs, internal investigations, external investigations and prosecutions by national and international regulatory authorities and litigation defence services. She also provides structuring and due diligence for international business transactions in an increasingly complex, multi-national framework.

Ms. FitzGerald’s arbitration practice includes experience in ad hoc arbitrations (e.g., under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules) and arbitrations administered under the auspices of major arbitral institutions, such as the ICC, the LCIA, ICSID and the AAA. In the course of this work Ms. FitzGerald has garnered dispute resolution expertise in a number of industry sectors, including upstream oil and gas, chemicals, construction and natural resources. Ms. FitzGerald has appeared before the Federal Courts of Canada, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of Canada in domestic proceedings. She has also appeared before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in trade remedy proceedings.

She holds her B.C.L./LL.B. from McGill University and her B.A. from The George Washington University.

 

 

Retired Sgt. Pat Poitevin
Former lead and Senior Investigator – Outreach Coordinator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Sensitive and International Investigations, National Division

Co-Founder - Managing Director - Senior Advisor - ABC Expert at Canadian Centre of Excellence for Anti-Corruption

Guest Lecturer MBA program and Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Patrice Poitevin (CACM, TASA) is an expert with 35 years of experience with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as an organized and financial crime senior investigator, with a focus on corruption.

He is an internationally recognized expert on anti-corruption, ethics and compliance. He advises and assists businesses in reducing their risk and exposure with tools, strategies and good practices.

He was a member of the Canadian mirror committee in charge of developing the ISO 37001 standard and is part of the United Nations Global Compact’s Canadian anti-corruption working group. He is the co-founder and a senior advisor in Strategic and International Development at the Canadian Centre of Excellence for Anti-Corruption.

Mr. Poitevin also volunteers as a martial arts instructor at a local community centre where he teaches children and others the values of fitness, hard work, respect and integrity.

 

 

Marc Tassé, CPA, CA (Canada), 
Forensic Certified Public Accountant (FCPA) (USA)

Forensic Accountant & Corporate Compliance Consultant 

Part-time Professor of Accounting, Finance and Ethics at the undergraduate and MBA programs at Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa

Part-time Professor (business ethics and anti-corruption), Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

Mr. Tassé is a Chartered Professional Accountant - Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) (Canada), a Forensic Certified Public Accountant (FCPA) (USA), and a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) (USA). He carries the designation Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) (USA)and holds both a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the Telfer School on Management at the University of Ottawa.

He has pursued ongoing professional development as an Associate or Affiliate member with the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Association of Certified Forensic Investigators of Canada, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Anti-Corruption Institute (holder of the CACM designation).

Mr. Tassé is a member or panel member of various groups including the Accountant-Lawyer Alliance, the Anti-Money Laundering Association, the Canadian Centre of Excellence for Anti-Corruption, the Rutgers Institute on Anti-Corruption Studies, the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy, the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances, and the Business Development Bank of Canada ViewPoints. He is also a speaker for the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, and volunteers with the United Nations Online Volunteering Service.

Mr. Tassé is a past and current member of various advisory boards, risk management committees, audit committees, governance committees, and boards of trustees with fiduciary responsibilities. As a philanthropist, he supports non-governmental organizations that fight corruption, such as Transparency International and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

For over 20 years, Mr. Tassé has been teaching (100+ courses at the bachelor, MHA, MBA and International MBA  level) at one of Canada’s top business schools, the Telfer School of Management. He is also an instructor with the Canadian Centre of Excellence for Anti-Corruption, a recipient of a Teaching Excellence Award in the MBA program, and has taught at two other Canadian universities. 

As a respected and highly sought-after freelance contributor to various broadcast media, Mr. Tassé is frequently invited by reporters and journalists to speak on topics related to his areas of expertise:

Fraud and money laundering prevention;

Anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance;

Financial crime risk management;

Ethics and corporate social responsibility;

International accounting and finance reporting; Business development and strategic alliances.

Marc Tassé currently co-teaches a course of business ethics and anti-corruption at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law that he has developed with Noah Arshinoff.

 

Thulisile Madonsela (born 28 September 1962) is a South African legal advocate and Professor of law, holding a chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University since January 2018. She served as the Public Protector of South Africa from 2009 to 2016. In 1996, she helped draft the final constitution of South Africa promulgated by then-President Nelson Mandela. She has won many awards and she is a global leadership figure for the pursuit of transparent and accountable democratic institutions, rule of law, human rights and racial justice and integrity (anti-corruption). Her list of prestigious international awards includes:  

2014 – Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in the Leaders category and described her as "an inspirational example of what African public officers need to be".

2014 – Glamour Women of the Year awards – named Woman of Courage

2014 – ANN7 South African of the Year

2014 – Transparency International Integrity Award

2015 – Doctor of Law (honoris causa), University of Fort Hare (2013), Stellenbosch University (March), Rhodes University (April) and University of Cape Town (June)

2015 – Association of Certified Fraud Examiners - SA Chapter (ACFE) Africa Advocacy Award 

2016 - Forbes African Person of the year

2016 - Chosen as one of the BBC's 100 Women

2016 - German Africa Prize

2018 - Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

2019- Honorary LLD from the Law Society of Ontario