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1997 April Report of the Auditor General of Canada

Main Points

1.2 About 500,000 men and women have some form of employment in the federal public sector; about 207,000 of those constituted the traditional public service as of March 1996. The federal public service is an institution under pressure to change and adapt: pressure from Canadians, the economic-political environment, and advocates of management reform. All participants in our study were convinced of the importance of building on the strengths of the past to ensure that Canada enters the twenty-first century with a modern, world-class public service.

1.3 Particular attention needs to be given to renewing and rejuvenating the public service work force; resolving long-standing human resource management issues; establishing a more constructive dialogue on performance and partnership; and continuity of leadership and persistence in moving forward.

1.4 The public service faces the challenge of identifying and filling the gaps resulting from recent departures, as well as building the human resource capacity to meet new challenges and provide for a strong public service in the future. Problems with three of the important personnel systems need to be addressed. Various attempts have been made to modernize them but more needs to be done.

1.5 Improved ways of dealing with shortfalls in administrative performance need to be found. An effective public service needs a Parliament and media that can fairly discuss errors in the context of overall performance.

1.6 Persistent and ongoing effort is required to address these challenges. Further discussion and debate are required on the future size and tasks of the public service and on the organizational approach to take.

Introduction

1.8 Considerable attention has been given in Canada to addressing these challenges through reforming the federal public service. Public Service 2000 (PS2000), announced in 1989, proposed a new management approach, one that stressed results supported by appropriate process, judgment within reasonable rules, and innovation while managing risk. As originally planned, it appeared to have the potential to address specific human resource and other management issues that needed attention.

1.9 PS2000 has been absorbed into a broader renewal exercise. A new government introduced a fundamental review of government programs and significantly reduced expenditures. More recently, deputy minister task forces examined a range of issues, including service delivery models, the future of the public service, management of overhead services, values and ethics, management of horizontal policy issues, and strengthening of the policy-making capacity.

Focus of this study

1.11 Objective. This present study (see About the Study ) was undertaken to draw to Parliament's attention some of the areas that we believe are particularly important to the continued well-being of the Canadian federal public service. This Office shares Parliament's interest in maintaining a competent and efficient federal public service that will serve Canadians well, now and in the future.

The Case for a Vigorous Public Service

What is the federal public service?

1.13 Our focus in this study is on the traditional federal public service, which comprised about 207,000 people in March 1996 (see Exhibit 1.2) and is a subset of the federal public sector. Public servants are employed under specific pieces of legislation that define the public service of Canada. Although our analysis deals with the public service, much of what we say may well apply to a significant portion of the broader federal public sector. Public sector organizations, although technically outside the public service, can still have strong public service traditions as they carry out their work in the public interest.

What is the purpose of the public service?

1.15 The purpose of the public service is to support ministers by carrying out policy analysis and bringing forward policy proposals designed to achieve government objectives, and by translating policy decisions into action. These actions may be carried out by the public service itself, other parts of the public sector, or others.

1.16 The public service acts in the interests of Canadians as identified and defined by those who are elected to govern. The public service reflects Canadians' joint purposes, past and present, and owes its existence and development to the common values they hold. Today's public service, with its structure and variety of activities and services, mirrors Canada's history and the needs Canadians have chosen to address through the political arena. Its effectiveness, and the efficiency with which it carries out its functions, are crucial to the quality of governance and to the economic, social and political health of the country.

1.17 A ministerial council of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has concluded that global economic integration will make an effective public service increasingly important to the performance of the private sector. In other words, an efficient and competent public service is one of the institutional structures that contributes to effective economic activity. As such, it helps Canada compete with countries that have a similarly well-developed public service, and provides Canada with a competitive advantage over those countries that do not.

What does the public service do?

1.19 Another role of the public service is to deliver a wide range of services, and apply the regulations that result from public policy decisions. On any given day, public employees deliver many services, from customs services to ice breaking, and from agricultural research to food inspection. These represent some of the goods and services that Canadians, as represented in Parliament, have decided to provide for themselves through delivery by the public service.

1.20 The third role of the public service is to deal with issues that never make their way onto the public and political stage. These administrative practices are developed in the context of the administrative framework legislated by Parliament.

1.21 To summarize, what the public service must do, and do well, is to propose policies, manage programs and services, and develop and implement administrative practices.

A competent public service

An efficient public service

Public service values

1.25 Public administration is about managing toward goals that may be individually imperfect but on the whole are politically acceptable. Frequently, managers are confronted with imperfect and incomplete performance information and a glut of subjective opinions. Public service values provide the normative controls that guide decision making. In our view, the role of values is so critical that the quality of public administration varies in relation to the strength with which they are held. Therefore, the care and nurturing of the system supporting public service values is an issue of the first importance.

1.26 The public service is expected to act in the public interest, and to be politically neutral, anonymous, impartial, dedicated, professional, and loyal to the government of the day. It is expected to provide efficient, effective and fair service to individuals, groups and society. There are inevitable tensions between some of these values. For example, there is a tension between fairness to society and responsiveness to individuals, and similarly, between due process and efficiency. Yet the essence of a public service is defined by these expectations. It must manage these tensions and still follow high standards of professionalism and of service to elected officials and to citizens, even under conditions of rapid change.

1.27 These values are entrenched in the public service organizations, their mandates, their systems and practices, and in the people who hold positions in the public service. The values of the public service give it continuity over time and stability. The public service, through its institutional continuity, has an enduring connection with the society it serves.

1.28 The public service is expected to take a long-term view when advising on policy, since serving the public interest demands looking well into the future. In comparison, the life of a Parliament is relatively short. This presents a potential for tension, but it is a healthy tension because ministers should expect their policy advisors to consider all implications when recommending policy. Through its enduring connection with society, the public service reflects society's values and interests. In return, it should enjoy legitimacy, trust and support.

Study Findings

The Pressure for Change

Pressure from Canadians

"Societies get the public services they expect. If people believe that government is bumbling, and bureaucratic, then that is what it will be. If, in contrast, they recognize public service for the noble calling it is, then they will end up with strong government."

(Note: Throughout the chapter, verbatim quotations from our interviews illustrate the material in the text.)

Pressure from the economic-political environment

"There isn't a department in the government that isn't impacted by what is going on in other countries."

1.33 As far as anyone can tell, there will be no letup in the rate of change and in the intensity of pressure. If anything, the rate of change will likely increase. For a large and complex organization such as the Canadian public service, building-in the capacity to adjust and keep pace represents an enormous challenge.

Pressure from advocates of "new public management"

• a bold use of marketlike mechanisms for those parts of the public sector that cannot be transferred directly into private ownership;
• intensified organizational and spatial decentralization of the management and delivery of services;
• a constant rhetorical emphasis on the need to improve service quality; and
• an equally relentless emphasis on customer satisfaction.

• be less involved in direct service provision;
• concentrate more on providing a flexible framework within which economic activity can take place;
• regulate better, with more complete information about likely impacts;
• continuously evaluate policy effectiveness;
• develop planning and leadership functions to respond to future economic and social challenges; and
• take a more participative approach to governance.

1.37 The new approaches raise a number of questions that need attention and discussion. Some of them are: What kind of public service does Canada want? What part of society's work should be done in or by the public sector? What set of values should govern the provision of public goods and services? Should the public service focus exclusively on efficiency, or also satisfy other societal goals such as, for example, being representative of the population as a whole in its composition? What should be the criteria for the migration of public service functions to the private sector?

1.38 These questions about approaches to public service and public management deserve debate with all stakeholders in order to agree on the nature of the Canadian public service as it evolves toward the future.

The Public Service Today

A portrait

1.41 The Public Service Commission, in its 1995-96 annual report to Parliament, provides the statistical portrait of the people who make up today's public service. The largest proportion of them work in four large departments: Revenue Canada, National Defence, Human Resources Development Canada, and Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Commission also reports that the public service is increasingly made up of professionals, with improved representation of women and improved bilingual capacity.

1.42 The same report points to a decline in indeterminate hiring and an increase in term appointments. For example, just four percent of appointments to the public service between April 1995 and March 1996 were for indeterminate employment. The others were for temporary work, including student employment.

1.43 The Public Service Commission reports that the age structure of the public service is changing markedly. Exhibit 1.6 shows a comparison of the sizes of different age groups in 1986 and 1996. The most recent age profile shows a concentration in the middle age group, with fewer younger workers and fewer older workers. It is particularly noteworthy that, in 1996, less than 9 percent of public servants were under 30 years of age, compared with almost 17 percent in 1986. This, combined with the recent downsizing and the resulting loss of the experience of those who retired, raises the concern that the public service is not adequately renewing its skills and that it has experienced a loss in its knowledge base. Further, it raises the question of the contribution the public service is making to developing the future leaders of Canadian society.

1.44 Many public servants feel under growing pressure to take on more work and to meet new and increasing demands, all the while with fewer resources. Their salaries were frozen for over five years, and recent increments are viewed as modest at best. One senior official suggested that the new expectations amount to a demand to produce "cheap excellence" - service that is world-class but that should cost next to nothing. These factors, in addition to continued downsizing and the introduction of new program delivery structures, have left a work force that feels less secure, less valued, and weakened in its capacity to meet changing demands.

A changing role and fewer resources

"We need to get our program structure focussed on the things the federal government absolutely has to do, and invest in the people, the programs, and the institutions we need to deliver them. Do it in the most innovative way and in ten years we could easily be renowned as the best government in the world. "

1.47 These six questions, and the order in which they were asked, demonstrate the two main thrusts of the initiative: first, to redefine the program responsibilities of the federal government; and second, to reduce their cost. Program Review has had a significant impact. It reduced government expenditures as well as the size of the public service. It also reinforced the message that there were limits on the government's ability to undertake new programs and initiatives.

1.48 The success at redesigning programs was uneven. Some departments, such as Transport Canada, have been cited as models of reducing expenditures and redesigning programs (see Exhibit 1.8) . Others are beginning the process of rethinking the functions of their departments.

1.49 One of the consequences of Program Review is that managers are being encouraged to focus more on results than inputs. The underlying strategy of shifting the focus to results was to also change supporting systems and processes.

Burdened by cumbersome personnel systems

1.51 For example, the Treasury Board's personnel manual, now partly on CD-ROM, and the Personnel-Pay Input Manual total more than 12,000 pages of rules, instructions, guidelines and directives, including some 70 collective agreements and classification and job evaluation standards. There are still some 840 rates of pay and more than 70,000 rules governing pay alone. In addition, the Public Service Commission and departments have developed rules that affect personnel management.

1.52 The rules lead to a large volume of personnel transactions that require significant administrative effort and talent to process. Not surprisingly, public service managers are frustrated with the administrative burden and apparent inflexibility of the personnel system. Yet they realize that any effort at simplification needs to take into account the need for "due process", the values of a professional public service, and an appointment system that is protected from partisan politics.

A climate of uncertainty

1.54 The reform initiatives of the last few years are viewed by many as having fundamentally changed the nature of the "public service contract." Many public servants believe that the implicit employee contract, which trades off security of tenure during satisfactory performance for neutrality and non-partisan loyalty to the government, has been broken. For support of this view, they point to the government's decisions to change legislation to modify security of tenure in order to permit downsizing.

1.55 Others have argued that there never was such an implicit contract. Instead, a long period of unprecedented public service growth from the 1940s to the 1980s helped reinforce the idea of security of tenure. Later events, such as the Government Work Force Adjustment Directive of 1991, had the same effect. In any case, the downsizing of government has demonstrated that the assumptions held by many about the security of employment do not reflect the current situation. For many public servants, this redefinition of the employment relationship has contributed to a sense of uncertainty about their future.

"True, a lot of people are leaving because of the uncertainty, but they also have in the back of their mind that their work is not valued."

"There is a definite sense that people just don't feel that anyone cares anymore."

"You have quite a considerable population between the ages of 45 and 50 who are at best hanging on to their job, and looking for the right timing rather than get unceremoniously dumped. That has to spell disaster for running a program."

A beleaguered executive

1.59 All executive-level managers are concerned, however, about the declining morale of employees. In a recent survey of the executive group, its members expressed strong concern about decreasing commitment, lack of recognition and eroding morale. The deputy minister task force on service delivery models identified three explanatory factors for this decline in morale: employees feeling undervalued, the climate of uncertainty, and having to meet high expectations with diminished resources.

1.60 As a group, executives view themselves as under stress because of the slow evolution of human resource policies, strategies and programs. They are also anxious because of, on the one hand, loss of staff due to downsizing and, on the other, the siphoning off of marketable specialists and professionals into the private sector (see Exhibit 1.5) , where pay and benefits are typically higher. Adding to these anxieties is the need to cope with rapid change, overwork, high performance expectations, and a sense of uncertainty about their own future in the public service. Yet this is the very group who, with their deputy ministers, must be an example and provide leadership for the work force.

"What bothers senior public servants is not only the freeze on pay, but the freeze on opportunities, on doing new, interesting and innovative things. That's the message I'm hearing all the time. And when people feel unappreciated, bored, and frustrated with their job, they then become aware that they are also under a salary freeze. It reinforces discouragement."

What Needs Particular Attention?

1.63 People are the principal resource of the public service, and managing them well is the key to its ability to cope with new and evolving demands. More than any other factor, good management of the public service involves maintaining this human resource with its competencies and its core values of serving Canadians. No proponent of change wants to erode these values and undermine the commitment of the public service to act in the public interest.

1.64 Based on the results of our study, the following areas deserve particular attention in order to maintain a competent and efficient public service:

• renewal and rejuvenation of the public service work force;
• resolving long-standing human resource management issues;
• establishing a more constructive dialogue on performance and partnership; and
• continuity of leadership and persistence in moving forward.

Renewal and rejuvenation of the work force

1.66 Strengthening the policy capacity. Strengthening the public service's ability to provide sound policy advice is an area that needs a longer-term solution. Developing policy and providing policy advice to ministers is considered a key role of the public service. This advice is provided by the most senior public servants, supported by the analytical work of their departments. The Clerk of the Privy Council, in a report that preceded the most recent downsizing exercises, expressed her concern about the diminished policy capacity in government. Since then, downsizing has further weakened this function, because early retirement incentives encouraged some of the most experienced individuals to leave. This is a concern because it affects the ability of the public service not only to provide high-quality policy advice but also to maintain the pool of men and women from whom the leaders of the public service have traditionally been drawn.

1.67 One of the deputy minister task forces was specifically asked to examine the policy capacity in government, in recognition of the fact that "all might not be right with the policy capacity of the federal government." The task force confirmed the importance of a strong policy capability in government and acknowledged some of the concerns. It was concerned that insufficient time and effort are devoted to reflection and longer-term interdepartmental discussion among senior officials. The problem, as one commentator put it, is one of "the urgent driving out the important." Central to the recommendations made by the task force is the need for renewal and improved recruitment into the public service, and for partnerships with the external research community, as ways of rebuilding the public service's policy capacity.

1.68 The public service is now relying increasingly on consultants, sometimes former public servants, and external organizations to do this analysis. There is potential to gain good value by drawing on former public servants. External consultation is and always will be a necessary part of policy formulation. However, while government is currently meeting its policy analysis requirements in the short term, the "contracting-out" approach does not provide for developing the next generation of policy advisers and senior public service leaders.

1.69 Strengthening competence and commitment. The knowledge and commitment of its people are the public service's most important assets, which must be rebuilt and updated to keep pace with changing conditions. This poses a challenge to management, and to the various training and development programs of the public service.

1.70 A number of services to the public have moved from the traditional public service to other parts of the public sector, the private sector or the not-for-profit sector. Such a newly defined structure would, early on, have to define the skill set that is required to ensure its smooth operation, such as managing contractual obligations and ensuring that accountability is working and proper service is delivered.

Resolving long-standing human resource management issues

1.72 Problems with three of the most important personnel systems need to be addressed. Various attempts have been made to modernize them, but more needs to be done to improve the systems of classification and job evaluation, staffing, and collective bargaining.

1.73 The classification and job evaluation system. This initiative was planned as a conversion to a modern classification and job evaluation system, and was an important part of public service renewal. In 1990 we noted the relatively high number of occupational groups in certain departments and agencies. We reported that six departments had at least 40 occupational groups, and that one of them had 56. We concluded that a fundamental change was necessary.

1.74 At the time, we recognized that this represented a significant challenge, particularly while respecting the requirement for pay equity. As we reported in May 1996, this challenge, including simplification of the occupational group structure, has been only partially met, although discussions are continuing among Treasury Board, unions and departmental officials, and efforts are under way to complete the initiative.

1.75 The staffing system. As a result of the Public Service Reform Act , there has been a move toward simplifying the system of attracting and recruiting people, and matching them to suitable work. However, studies and reviews by the Public Service Commission show that neither managers nor employees are satisfied with the existing system. Managers feel that the system should be more efficient and more timely. Employees feel the current system is not consistently fair and does not consistently protect merit.

1.76 The collective bargaining system. Over the last 20 years, collective bargaining rights have been modified or suspended for a total of almost 10 years. Legislation has modified or suspended agreements and salary and working conditions. Collective bargaining is expected to resume in 1997. The process and scope of bargaining has also changed over the years. A process has developed in which job security under the Work Force Adjustment Directive is "negotiated" independent of salary and other work conditions. Management and unions have not consistently collaborated in resolving human resource management problems. On the positive side, unions are now actively participating in the development of the Universal Classification Standard and the government initiative to develop a human resource framework better suited to the management of scientific personnel.

1.77 These issues need resolution. Action on these three issues holds the promise of freeing up the process of managing people in the public service. Yet there are underlying factors that can influence the resolution of these issues. The "new public management", for example, focusses strongly on the importance of efficiency and responsiveness. It would argue that the pay of people should be based on local market conditions, rather than on public-service-wide pay rates.

1.78 Moving service delivery operations out of the public service currently offers the potential for more streamlined operations, because of troublesome systems and processes in the management of people in the public service. However, such devolution needs to be done on its own merits, not simply to avoid bureaucratic constraints in the public service. While conscientious efforts have been made to improve human resource management in the public service, its leaders and their political masters need to address these constraints.

Establishing a more constructive dialogue on performance

1.80 Government is getting more complex, and many administrative matters are far removed from the minister's direct purview. The traditional ideals - that the minister is all-knowing, and that public servants must do nothing to potentially embarrass the minister - become more and more difficult to achieve.

1.81 Public servants are being asked to do more with less and to assume more risk; ministers are subject to scrutiny by the opposition and seek to reduce risk. These pressures work against full disclosure of shortcomings as well as successes, and thereby limit constructive discussion on how change can be made.

1.82 Canadians expect the public service to be more open and transparent in its aims and operations. They expect explanations of what it does, why, and at what cost. Transparency and openness do not mean "reporting everything". Sheer volume would make that impractical for everyone concerned. Rather, meaningful accountability includes reporting what is relevant and in the public interest, with other information made accessible on request to anyone who needs it. Only when citizens and public servants better understand each other's situations will it be possible to move toward an informed dialogue and to make changes that meet common expectations.

"The idea is to encourage more and more people to fulfill their responsibilities as citizens and for government to be especially sensitive to the voices of these citizens - not merely through elections but through all aspects of the design and implementation of public policy."

"The job of management is to support the employee at the front desk. The key support is to provide all of the information that the person will need to make valid assumptions, take risks, and make decisions. The front-line employee must have all the information she needs to take risks in a successful way."

1.85 The challenge facing the public service is the way citizens and parliamentarians deal with shortfalls in administrative performance, which can and do occur. There are some lessons to be drawn from the government's Service Standards Initiative, which suggests developing a consensus on realistic standards to be attained. This means discussion, research and dialogue so that all the interested parties share in the decision on what is achievable. With this approach, public servants are not on their own in setting the goals. While the initiative focussed on those being served, there is no reason why public servants and ministers could not include members of Parliament in this dialogue.

"We should recognize just how much contact there is between the public servant and the citizen. We should be proud of what we've got. And we should expect that every once in a while a public servant may be having a bad day but that doesn't mean that we should do a full-blown inquiry, or sort of whip ourselves into a frenzy."

1.87 An effective public service needs a Parliament and media that can fairly discuss errors in the context of overall performance. Where rules and control frameworks are too rigid or out-of-date, Parliament needs to be informed so that changes can be made. Instead of continuing the long tradition of exacting accountability for individual errors, a shift of focus to the nature of corrective action would shift the emphasis to improvement. Members of Parliament, the public and the media ought to demand in their scrutiny that this kind of correction occur. Indeed, it is perhaps the absence of learning rather than the absence of perfection that most warrants criticism.

Continuity of leadership and persistence in moving forward

"We see rapid change and great complexity around us, but caution and limited flexibility in the way we work. This often results in slow, limited or no implementation."

"One of the principal constraints is political pressures. "Leadership" is good until the day it embarrasses the government, and officials have to work within the limits of what their ministers will accept."

1.91 Directions for change have been mapped out over time, including studies done by the recent deputy minister task forces. The time is right to act on what has been learned.

Conclusion

1.93 At this time, the future size and tasks of the public service and of related public sector entities, and the organizational approaches to be used, are still open questions. On a case-by-case basis, the government is making decisions on which functions should remain in the core public service and which should migrate elsewhere, and what the nature of their relationship with ministers should be. This warrants further debate and discussion.

1.94 The public service, regardless of its size and composition, must remain contemporary in its approach to management systems and procedures. Its recruitment and compensation, the use of technology, and the push to administrative efficiency need to be in line with those of other large organizations in Canada.

1.95 Four areas require particular attention:

• Renewing and rejuvenating the work force in the public service - ensuring a vibrant public service for the twenty-first century.
• Resolving long-standing human resource management issues - removing barriers to the management of people.
• Establishing a more constructive dialogue on performance - dealing fairly and effectively with individual shortfalls in the context of overall performance.
• Continuity of leadership, and persistence in moving forward - demonstrating perseverance in direction, and congruence between words and deeds.

1.97 In resolving some of the more fundamental issues, the public service will need to engage in discussion with its partners: government, Parliament and citizens.

1.98 We have noted throughout this chapter that new realities are challenging government and its institutions. Fiscal pressures, globalization, new technology, complexity and accelerating change are all sources of pressure for change. In addition, budgets have been reduced and programs and staff significantly downsized. At the same time, public confidence in government has declined. Canadians criticize it as costly and unresponsive. They demand a competent and efficient public service that will serve them well, now and in the future.

1.99 Government has responded to these challenges with various studies, strategies and a range of initiatives. Through Program Review, it looked at the size, scope, composition and cost of departments and agencies. Through deputy minister task forces it explored the alternative service delivery structures and other areas. Through La Relève, a recently announced initiative, it is attempting to attract, retain and motivate a talented and dedicated work force.

1.100 As our study points out, persistent and ongoing effort is required to rejuvenate the work force, address a number of long-standing human resource management issues, develop a more constructive dialogue on performance, and maintain the public service as a vibrant institution.

Treasury Board Secretariat's comments:

• The chapter provides a very good representation of the responsibilities of the public service, the environment in which it operates and the pressures it faces, and the high degree of professionalism that individual public servants bring to their responsibilities. We could not agree more that a ``vigorous public service" makes a significant contribution, indeed is essential, to the well-being of Canadian society. It is also interesting to note that most of the issues identified by the Auditor General are not unique to the Government and Public Service of Canada, but are in fact variations of the same concerns facing most Western governments.
• The last few years have been difficult ones for public servants as they have been professionally and personally affected by changes in the priorities, programs and structures of the federal government. Yet, our very success in meeting our fiscal and Program Review objectives is due in large part to the skill, dedication and contribution of public service employees.
• With respect to the specific recommendations contained in this chapter, work is under way to address many of the issues identified. For example;
  • Renewing and rejuvenating the work force in the public service. We are developing and implementing the La Relève initiative, which is a series of service-wide and organizationspecific activities to ensure continuing leadership in the public service, to strengthen our policy capacity, to improve career mobility and development opportunities for employees and to provide a work environment that is both supportive of individuals and enables them to make their best contributions.
  • Resolving long-standing human resource management issues to remove barriers to the management of people. We are simplifying and modernizing our classification and job evaluation system, which will be a critical underpinning of other reforms to the human resource management framework; we have returned to collective bargaining after a six-year hiatus and we are working with the public service unions to simplify and improve the collective bargaining process itself. We recognize the need to examine other fundamental reforms and will do so.
  • Establishing a more constructive dialogue on performance. Through the Improved Reporting to Parliament project, we are making the information we provide to Parliament on government plans, priorities and results achieved more accessible and more understandable. Sixteen pilot reports were part of this year's Main Estimates exercise. We continue to place emphasis on quality-of-service initiatives, a major component of which is the development of service standards in consultation with clients and citizens.
  • Continuity in leadership and persistence in moving forward. We are addressing this partially through the La Relève initiative and programs to replenish and develop the leadership cadre of the public service; the President of the Treasury Board has established an Advisory Committee of private, voluntary and labour sector representatives to advise him on executive compensation issues; and action plans for the implementation of the deputy minister task forces have been developed. We recognize that change requires persistence and we are fully prepared to provide that commitment ``over the long haul".
  • Two recent publications that deal with many of these issues may be of interest to readers. They are ``Getting Government Right: Governing for Canadians" (February 20, 1997) and ``The Fourth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada" (February 3, 1997).

About the Study

Objective

Approach and Methodology

Study Team

For information, please contact Maria Barrados, the responsible Assistant Auditor General.