"Hill & Knowlton Canada will receive the Silver Quality Award for Excellence from the National Quality Institute (NQI) in a ceremony on October 24 in Toronto. Hill & Knowlton is the first public relations and public affairs agency to receive this award." So trumpeteth a news release issued last week by the government relations giant. Undoubtably, Michael Coates, the company's president and chief executive officer, must be very proud. After all, he knows very well just how prestigious that award is - him being a member of the quality institute's board of governors and all. But, in an interview with Public Eye, institute vice-president and chief operating officer Kathryn Cestnick confirmed Mr. Coates wasn't part of the jury panel that qualified Hill and Knowlton for that award. Said Ms. Cestnick, "That would be a conflict of interest. So anyone that has anything to do any award would never be asked to sit on a jury panel...And we have a very strict code of ethics and conflict of interest policy that we abide by."