By Kathryn May, Postmedia NewsNovember 26, 2011
OTTAWA – The federal government is dressing up its deficit-reduction
review as an opportunity to transform and "renew" the public service and
the way it delivers services to Canadians. It’s a message that
Treasury Board President Tony Clement has been pitching of late while
the Privy Council Office is sending similar messages for deputy
ministers to bring to their employees as they wait to find out where the
axe will fall in the upcoming budget. “We are in effect, laying the foundation for the public service workforce of the future,” Clement said in a speech last week. “This
is, to me, an opportunity; an opportunity to ensure that what the
government is doing is being done as effectively and efficiently as
possible. This is also our chance to modernize our government.” But
Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public
Service, said putting the best face on job losses and reduced services
won’t change the “doom and gloom” many workers feel before the budget. “You
can put lipstick on a pig and it’s still a pig. Dress it up however you
want. It still means they are reducing the public sector and service to
Canadians,” Corbett said. Departments are supposed to appeal to
their employees to “think about the long-term interest of the country
and the institution.” A document being circulated, called “Key Messages
on Deficit Reduction and Renewal of the Public Service,” says the public
service that emerges from the review should be stronger, streamlined,
higher-performing, and focused on its core business. There will be fewer
rules, less hierarchy, more efficient processes and fulfilling jobs. “Given
the current financial environment globally, within Canada and within
government, it makes good sense to step back, recalibrate and set a new
direction,” said the document. (more)
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