Public Service of Canada

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The Public Service of Canada is the staff, or bureaucracy, of the federal government of Canada. Its function is to support the Canadian monarch, represented by the Governor General, and the appointed ministry.

The public service functions through departments, agencies, commissions, crown corporations, and other federal organizations. Over 40% of the Public Service of Canada is located in the Ottawa-Hull area, although there are staff in over 180 countries and 1,600 locations across Canada.

Purpose

The purpose of the Canadian public service is to enact the will of the government. It does this through providing advice, implementing the priorities of the government, supporting Ministers of the Crown, and delivering services that support Canadians.

Structure

The chief public servant is the Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council. In 2007, there were approximately 200 departments (e.g., Health Canada), agencies, commissions (e.g., Canadian Grain Commission), boards (e.g., Veterans Review and Appeal Board), councils (e.g., Canadian Judicial Council) and crown corporations (e.g., Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation).

A typical department is headed by a minister, which is a political position held usually by a member of parliament, and who is a member of the Cabinet. The senior civil servant in a department is usually titled as Deputy Minister (given the title of Deputy Head). These officials are responsible for all on-going operations within their department, while ministers are accountable to parliament. Deputy heads report directly to their minister, as well as to the Clerk of the Privy Council.

Under the Deputy Minister is usually three to five Assistant Deputy Ministers who oversee various broad aspects of the department (ex: policy, administration, program implementation etc). Within the jurisdiction of each Assistant Deputy Minister is usually two to five Directors-General who oversee more functional areas of each broad element of the department. Under Directors-General are Directors, who oversee various directorates, which are the core of any department. These directorates contain the ground level in each department and are the members of the public service who implement government decisions.

Personnel

Hiring

Hiring (or selection) of civil servants is typically done through a competitive process that is either external (open) process or an internal (closed) process. External competitions are typically done to recruit a greater number of applicants. Conversely, internal competitions may be held for positions where there is considered to be adequate internal candidates and/or to provide opportunities for advancement within the civil service.

The area of selection varies greatly for positions and may be as limited to a specific urban area (e.g., the Lower Mainland of British Columbia) or nation-wide (and in some cases global).

Since the 2003 enactment of the 2003 Public Service Modernization Act, competitions now focus less on a rules-based concept of best-qualified, and more on a values-based approach that supposedly allows managers to hire qualified and competent individuals more quickly.^[1]

Civil servants in Canada are not contracted by an abstraction called "the state," but rather are employed by the Canadian monarch, who personifies the state and "enjoys a general capacity to contract in accordance with the rule of ordinary law."^[2] Hence, some civil servants, such as police officers, are required by law to recite the Oath of Allegiance before taking their posts; however, the same Public Services Modernization Act mentioned above ended the requirement of bureaucratic civil servants to swear the oath.

Size and distribution

The public service has expanded over the years as population has grown, the number of services provided to Canadians has increased and with the introduction of new offices throughout the country. The service has also been reduced several times, often due to restraint programs designed to reduce the cost of the civil service.

As of September, 2006, there were approximately 454,000 members of the Canadian civil service,^[6] divided as follows:

• Core public administration: 180,000
• Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): 106,000
• Federal business enterprises (including crown corporations): 88,000
• Separate agencies: 60,000
• Other (e.g., Senate and the Canadian House of Commons): 20,000

There are approximately 100 distinctly different positions in the Canadian public service; most work in policy, operations or administrative functions. About 15% are scientists and professionals, 10% work in technical operations and 2.5% are executives.^[7]

About 42% of Canadian public servants work in the National Capital Region (NCR) (Ottawa-Hull), 24% work elsewhere in Ontario or Quebec, 21% in Western Canada, and 11% in Atlantic Canada. Since the headquarter offices of most agencies is located in NCR, about 72% of executives work in this area.^[7]

Canadian civil servants are also located in more than 180 countries and provide service in 1,600 locations in Canada.

Gender and ethnicity

The Canadian Civil Service has made significant efforts to reflect the gender balance, linguistic, and ethnic diversity in Canada.^[8]

Historical timeline

• Before responsible government, Canada had no real civil service; government officials were appointed by either the Crown or its provincial representatives. These officials usually served for an unspecified period ("during the pleasure of the Crown") for as long as they were deemed fit for the position.^[9]
• 1849 - when responsible government began in 1849, there was a recognition that the roles of the political and non-political government officials needed to be defined and distinguished from one another.
• 1868 - the Canada Civil Service Act was enacted ^[10]
• The "Civil Service Act" of 1882 created a process for examining candidates for the civil service, with a Board of Civil Service Examiners
• 1908 - the Civil Service Amendment Act created the Civil Service Commission, to oversee appointments to government positions (the "inside service").
• The Civil Service Act 1918 brought the outside service under the domain of the Commission, along with greater oversight with regards to appointments and promotions for members of the "inside service".
• 1920s - the Commission created of a competitive system of examinations for appointment and promotion (a merit system) as a viable alternative to the patronage system.
• 1921 - formal restrictions were placed against the employment of married women. Women already holding permanent positions who married had to resign. These restrictions were not removed until 1955.
• 1924 - The Civil Service Superannuation Act was intended to promote and protect a career civil service.
• 1932 - staff control regulations are established and Treasury Board is given authority over the Civil Service Commission's staffing responsibilities.
• 1949 - the number of World War II veterans assigned to positions in the civil service under the statutory veterans preference rises to 55,000.
• 1951 - The Financial Administration Act of 1951 provided final authority to the Treasury Board for management (administration and organization) of the public service.
• 1957 - The CSC establishes the Pay Research Bureau to provide objective information on rates of pay and conditions of employment in government and industry, and to recommend salary rates for civil servants.
• 1961 - The new Civil Service Act of 1961 gave civil servants the right of appeal against not only promotions, but also transfers, demotions, suspensions and dismissals.
• 1962 - The Government adopted recommendations by the Royal Commission on Government Organization (Glassco Commission) on the management of the Public Service, including delegating authority to departments to manage their own personnel and to be held accountable for efficient performance.
• 1966 - Bilingualism becomes an element of merit in the national capital area.
• 1967 - Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) come into effect. The PSEA gave the renamed Public Service Commission the responsibility for all the elements of the staffing process. The PSSRA created a collective bargaining regime in the civil service.
• early 1970s - rapid expansion of the public service.
• Late 1970s - significant reduction of public service.
• 1979 - The Bilingualism Bonus was introduced for public servants who met the bilingual language requirements of their positions.
• 1984 - the Commission on Equality in Employment issued its report, which recommended that targets and not quotas are the most effective means of achieving equity in the employment of members of under-represented groups.
• 1986 - further employment layoff programs again reduce the public service.
• 1992 - Public Service Reform Act amends both the PSEA and the Public Service Staff Relations Act. This provides more flexibility for managers to respond quickly to changing operational needs or to allow employees to acquire new skills. The Act also enabled the PSC to prescribe standards of competence to measure merit.
• 1995 - a restraint-focussed federal budget leads to further reductions in the size of the civil service.

References

External links

• The civil service of Canada (1923) (pdf)
• Government of Canada website
• Canada’s Public Service in the 21st Century (by the Public Policy Forum)