Publications

II

Putting the Public Interest First

Canadians can take pride in having built one of the best countries in the world in which to live. And the public service can also take pride in its own contribution to the creation of the high quality of life enjoyed by Canadians. Taken together, the services provided — and the policies and programs delivered — by government contribute to the richness of Canadian life.

As we approach the 21st century, the challenge for government is to prepare Canadians to share the rewards of a global economy and to adapt to the profound effects of modern information technology. The public service must adjust in order to keep pace with the times and the changing needs of citizens.

In response to these emerging challenges, the Public Service of Canada has been pursuing for the past several years the dual goal of strengthening its policy capacity and modernizing its delivery of services. These efforts will continue over the years to come. Furthermore, the Public Service of Canada will strive to better engage the participation of citizens in the policy development process and to provide Canadians with access to government services according to their individual needs and circumstances.

Strengthening Our Policy Capacity

My annual reports of the past two years have highlighted the increasing complexity and crosscutting nature of policy issues. More than ever, policy work depends on having a broad base of knowledge and an understanding of interrelated events. This, in turn, requires a new approach to policy work, with greater emphasis on the mid-to-long term, greater co-ordination and collaboration across departments and levels of government, and a more open, participatory and transparent policy development process.

The process of strengthening the government’s policy capacity and developing a strong policy community across government began in 1995 with the work of the Task Force on Strengthening the Policy Capacity of the Government of Canada. It was followed in 1996 by the Task Force on the Management of Horizontal Policy Issues. That same year, the Policy Research Committee, involving more than 30 federal departments and agencies, was launched by the Privy Council Office. It was challenged to anticipate the policy issues of greatest importance for Canada into the year 2005.

The committee established four research networks around the issues of growth, human development, social cohesion and global challenges and opportunities. The committee is also looking at adjustment and transition issues as Canada moves to a knowledge-based economy and society. Already, the Policy Research Committee’s findings have begun to enrich the quality of policy advice in various departments and, most recently, have influenced the priorities reflected in the Speech from the Throne of 1997.

The Policy Research Committee has provided policy researchers and developers with a sense of community as they work closer together and learn from one another. For example, in November 1997, more than 300 public servants working in the fields of policy development, analysis and research in all departments of government, attended a conference where they discussed strategic policy issues, built personal contacts and exchanged views. A first for the Public Service of Canada.

The process of discussion is now expanding to invite the contribution of regional development agencies and of federal regional councils in order to enhance policy responsiveness to regional issues.

The Policy Research Committee has also opened itself to the broad external policy community and continues to explore new forms of partnership. In November 1997, 40 external research organizations met to provide networking opportunities for policy researchers and to explore opportunities for collaboration. Plans are under way to hold a conference, the National Policy Research Conference, in the autumn of 1998. A first for Canada.

At the international level, the Policy Research Committee is collaborating with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to gain a better understanding of current OECD strategic priorities, to share Canada’s perspective on the policy environment and to share information on emerging domestic and international issues. Plans are also under way for the production of a bulletin which will highlight key research results from the federal government, from Canadians and from international sources. As well, an Internet site is being establishedto link policy makers and researchers across Canada and abroad.

This is progress, for which we owe thanks to departments and their policy teams. We must also acknowledge the exceptional leadership of the co-chairs of the Policy Research Committee, as well as the contribution of the Steering Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers and the committee’s Secretariat.

Along the way, important lessons have been learned.

• Sound policy development requires taking a broader, more comprehensive approach to the definition of the public interest.

• The complexity of public policy issues, coupled with involving citizens in the policy development process, heightens the need for a medium- to long-term investment in the policy research and development process.

• The interdependence of policy issues requires intense interorganizational co-operation and collaboration across government departments and agencies, across levels of government, with external researchers, and with other sectors of society.

• The best policy analysts are those who have acquired, through the years, a diversity of knowledge and experience; who work well together and value teamwork; and who can lead or follow the lead of others, depending on the needs or the issue at hand.

Over the coming years, the Public Service of Canada will maintain its commitment to strengthening its policy capacity.

• We will continue to encourage teamwork.

• We will continue our efforts to build a strong policy community.

• We will continue to reach out and to build strategic alliances domestically and abroad.

At the same time, departments and their policy teams will be called upon to help the Government of Canada explore the potential of citizen engagement in a parliamentary democracy. Citizens wish to relate to their democratic and public sector institutions in new and different ways. They are no longer satisfied to participate only in an election every four or five years. Citizens want to have a say in the policies that will affect them most. They want to be partners in shaping Canada’s future.

Over the years, the Government of Canada has explored and gained experience in various ways of involving citizens. These ways ranged from increased transparency through the provision of information, to greater accountability through the reporting of results, to consultation on major policy issues. Citizen engagement is a two-way learning process between citizens and their democratic and public sector institutions, involving them in trade-offs and a search for common ground.

Modernizing the Delivery of Services to Canadians

The delivery of programs and services is where government policy development becomes a reality for Canadians.

Over the last four years, we have made many efforts to modernize the relationship between government and citizens. In the process, departments have benefited from the contribution in 1996 of the Task Force on Service Delivery Models and the Task Force on Values and Ethics. In particular, the reforms reaffirmed the importance of the role of citizens well beyond their role as customers and clients. Citizens have a rich and profound relationship to their governments as equal bearers of rights and duties in a democratic setting. This relationship bears no resemblance to that which exists between consumers and enterprises in the private sector.

We have learned that focusing on citizens’ needs often leads, over time, to

• Integrated service delivery among departments and agencies, to better serve citizens

• Integrated service delivery among governments, as they share the responsibility of serving citizens

• Strategic alliances and partnerships with private-sector, volunteer and non-profit organizations (everyone can contribute to the collective interest)

• The exploitation of the potential of information technology as a means for government to reach out and for Canadians to access government on their terms

Today, significant examples of progress along the lines just described can be found in every department. For example,

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which began operation in April 1997, is an example of seamless integration among service providers within the Government of Canada. It consolidates all federally mandated food inspection and quarantine services previously provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada, Industry Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

• The Aboriginal Single Window Initiative in Winnipeg is an example of integrating service delivery by three levels of government. The federal government (led by Human Resources Development Canada), the province of Manitoba, and the city of Winnipeg provide Aboriginal peoples with improved access to, and information on, services and programs offered by three levels of government.

• The work of the Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, is an example of partnership. It has a collaborative research program with the private sector, universities and other research centres; its Food Industry Pavilion shares and transfers knowledge and information related to the agri-food industry; and it is participating in the development of the Agri-Food Scientific Park of Saint-Hyacinthe.

• Industry Canada’s Strategis information system provides a rich source of data on new markets, new partnerships, new technologies and processes — with the goal of enhancing business competitiveness. In the past year, this Web site received more than 1.4 million visits, with over 12 million documents retrieved.

Over the coming years, the Public Service of Canada will continue to modernize its service delivery function. We will continue our efforts to focus service delivery around citizens’ needs and on improving citizens’ access to government. Much progress has been made, but much more remains to be done.

• Within the Public Service of Canada, progress is needed to project a common image, for departments to share and operate a common infrastructure, for the Government of Canada to provide a single window centered on citizens’ needs.

• At the intergovernmental level, the most important breakthrough would be the coming together of municipal, territorial, provincial and federal governments — mindful of their respective responsibilities but united in their efforts to serve Canadians. A single window for all governments can be a reality in Canada.

• Today, information technology is giving us the means to put the institutional knowledge that is currently in the hands of three levels of government at the service of Canadians and their communities. It could profoundly alter the relationship between governments and citizens.

• The technological challenge presented by the approach of the year 2000 highlights the interdependence of governments with other sectors of society and with other nations. It provides an example of the extent to which collaboration across all boundaries is critical in order to provide an effective response — in this case, ensuring the preparedness of Canada’s information systems for the year 2000.

The Relationship Between Government and Citizens

The challenge will be to explore ways to give citizens a greater voice in developing government policy and more access to government services on their terms and according to their needs. At first, democracy meant coming together in the village square to exchange information, to debate and to make decisions of collective interest. As society became more complex and distance imposed limitations, representative democracy emerged as the most viable model to ensure a link and proper oversight by citizens of their political institutions.

On the verge of the 21st century, information technology is giving Canadians an opportunity to build new, more direct relations with their democratic and public sector institutions. Taken together, these reforms could give a fuller, richer meaning to the relationship between government and citizens.

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