Ottawa, Ontario – 25 April 2014
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today welcomed the 8th report of his Advisory Committee on the Public Service, entitled Contributing to a Competitive Canada. This year’s report focuses in large part on the future with a number of recommendations centered on how the Public Service can renew itself for the greater benefit of Canadians and the continued competitiveness of Canada.
The Committee’s principal recommendations included:
- Involving all employees, especially those on the front lines, in process improvements;
- Putting renewed effort into streamlining business processes;
- Investing in learning with a particular focus on core Public Service competencies and skills;
- Ensuring that middle management roles are clearly defined and that management structures in departments are adapted to meet today’s requirements;
- Investing in longer-term thinking both in people and institutions; and,
- Sustaining the momentum of the management reforms underway and establishing milestones for progress.
The Committee also fully endorsed the Blueprint 2020 engagement process lead by the Clerk of the Privy Council to reform and renew the federal Public Service, supported the Government’s efforts to balance its budget, and noted the importance of modernizing the workplace through the application of new information technologies. Members also highlighted the successes of significant management initiatives underway including the transformation of Public Service pension and pay services and the consolidation of key back-office infrastructure.
The eighth report is available on the Clerk of the Privy Council’s website: http://www.clerk.gc.ca/eighth.
“Like any other large institution, the Public Service must ensure that it has the people, tools, processes and vision required to meet the needs of Canadians. I would like to thank the Advisory Committee for their recommendations, which will help guide us as the Public Service works towards a more modern, agile, effective and cost-efficient organization, one that continues to provide value to taxpayers. I would especially like to thank long-serving members David Emerson, Paul Tellier and Donna Soble Kaufman for their significant contributions to improving Canada’s Public Service, and wish them the very best in their future endeavours.”
– Prime Minister Stephen Harper
