A Canadian Model of Public Administration

1
A Canadian Model of Public Administration

• Ian Gow
• Canadian School of Public Service 2005

2
First The Canadian Political System

• Westminster system
• A system of parliamentary government in which the
  candidate must have the support of the majority
  of the House of Commons
• Exceptions to the Westminster System
• A federal state
• A strong and independent judiciary with the power
  to review and reject legislation
• A Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Important number of customary rules
• Powers from a royal prerogative, e.g. to declare
  war

3
Examples of Court Powers

• Throwing out the limits imposed by the public
  service employment act on political acts by
  employees during election campaigns
• Requiring pay equity

4
Government-Administration Interface

• Treasury Board
• The undisputed management board of the government
  responsible for strategic planning, setting
  standards and monitoring departmental performance
• Privy Council
• Direct link to the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Used to select, train and evaluate senior public
  servants
• The small degree of the politicization shown in
  the appointments of deputy ministers in the
  federal government is unique among comparable
  countries

5
Accountability Independent controlled agencies
are

• The Office on the Auditor General,
• leading the public management reform movement
• The Access Commissioner
• concerned about the culture of secrecy
• The Privacy Commissioner
• concerned about abuses in the name of security
• The Official Language Commissioner
• monitors the reality of language used in the
  workplace
• The Human rights Commissioner
• concerned about the Employment Equity Act

6
Types and Style of Administrative Reform in
Canada

• Canadian public service culture is pragmatic,
  little driven by theory
• Changes in the 1980s were concerned with
  downsizing while in the 1990s Canada joined in
  the public management revolution
• Canada was first to introduce the envelope system
  (1979)
• Canadian privatizations and deregulations were
  moderate
• In the 1990s more hearty innovations occurred
  such as the Program Review, alternative service
  delivery and information technologies

7
Financial Reforms

• Canada has not been moderate
• Mike Harris, Ralph Klein and Jean Chrétien took
  bold steps toward budget deficits
• For example Canada cut spending by 17 billion
  (14.48) over four years and reduced 39,000 jobs
• This is the state at its authoritarian best with
  institutions, provinces, municipalities, school
  boards and health institutions unilaterally being
  told to cut budgets
• No country of the G-7 group came even close to
  the Canadian success in eliminating its deficit
• Canada has very low levels of corruption, ranks
  in the top 10 countries out of approximately 90
  countries

8
Personnel Management

• There are enough people in the system to ensure
  continuity in executive ranks (The Public Service
  Commission 2002) .
• So the problem becomes one of proper training and
  career management to prepare promising candidates
• The idea of the learning organization is a
  strategy of public service reform based on the
  notion of a professional public service working
  in partnership with political leaders
• The Canadian School of Public Service was
  established in 1988 as the Canadian Center for
  Management Development
• The Public Service Modernization Act of 2003
• New delegation of staffing powers to deputy
  ministers, a delusion of the merit system (only
  need to determine that a candidate meets
  qualification for the job, not that she or he is
  the best candidate)

9
Official Languages and Equity

• Canada's policy onto official languages remains a
  remarkable success at the level of representation
• In the year 2000, the federal public service
  overall had achieved some overrepresentation for
  aboriginals, women and people with disabilities
  but was still far from representativeness for
  visible minorities
• In 1998 the federal government excepted judgment
  against it in the Federal Court that 230,000
  present and former women employees were eligible
  to receive approximately 3.6 billion in
  compensation for past pay inequity

10
Autonomous Government Innovation

• A unique model for some communities of native
  people
• Treat the aboriginal population not as
  individuals needing help but as members of
  communities deserving of collective recognition.
  
• Examples B.C. Nisgaa, the Yukon, Nunavut,
  Nunavik, NWT

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A Canadian Model of Public Administration

• The potential for strong political control
• A strong legal framework
• An autonomous professional public service that
  works willingly with governments of different
  parties and different ideological tendencies
• The public service and political leaders have a
  tradition of pragmatism and moderation that keeps
  it evolving
• Tolerance for ambiguity as seen my multilayered
  government and loyalty of citizens for the
  different layers.