Media Room
Speeches
Notes for an address
by Scott Brison,
Minister of Public Works and Government Services,
to the Canadian Club
Toronto, Ontario
September 21, 2004
Check Against Delivery
Thank you for the kind introduction and inviting me to address
you in what I think is an exciting time for me personally, and for
the new government of Paul Martin.
I was named Minister of Public Works and Government Services eight
weeks ago, though I'll admit sometimes it feels like eight years.
And during that time, I've tried to meet as many members of my team
as possible and acquaint myself with this important department that
forms the backbone of the government…it makes sure public servants
have everything they need to serve you the public.
When Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed his new Cabinet, he made
it clear that he wanted us to be bold, innovative and "to hit
the ground running." I took his message to heart.
I've held four regional town hall meetings and I have another tomorrow
in Montreal. In fact, just after the swearing in of Cabinet, I asked
my deputy to set up sessions so I could meet the staff. He said
"sure…we should be able to do that in October," to
which I answered "Look, how about tomorrow." And so just
two days after becoming minister, I was able to talk directly to
about 1,200 employees at a town hall in Gatineau.
The reason I did this was because I want public servants to be
full partners in the transformative change that I want to undertake
in my department. Today I am speaking to this business audience,
but I'm also delivering a message directly to our public servants
through the wonders of television.
I'm proud to be part of a government of action. Look at the historic
health accord signed with the premiers and territorial leaders last
week. It will have an enduring effect on health care and it serves
as a testament to the fact that this is a Prime Minister who keeps
his commitments. We campaigned on a long-term ten-year deal for
health care and three months into our mandate, that's exactly what
we've delivered.
Now I want to give you a broad outline of some of the things I
hope to accomplish. I realize that Canadians are aware of some of
the challenges and difficult issues faced by this department in
the recent past, and frankly, they expect us to do more than just
not repeat those mistakes.
That being said, I'd like to take a few moments to tell you what
this department does. I certainly wasn't aware of its scope when
I first got the job, and I'd bet many in the audience would be surprised
by what we do and, for the most part, do quite well. Remember, this
is the proud department that was instrumental in building Canada…the
canals, the roads, the bridges, the post offices and of course the
House of Parliament. And it remains the heart and muscles and blood
of what makes government work.
The department is the landlord providing offices for about 250,000
public servants. We manage one of the largest and most diverse portfolios
of real estate in the country.
In addition, the federal government spends something like $13 billion
dollars a year on goods and services…more than a billion dollars
each month. And Public Works and Government Services Canada buys
most of that…everything from flu vaccines to helicopters to
paper clips.
As Receiver General we collect and account for and make payments
on behalf of the Government of Canada…that adds up to a turnover
of 1.3 trillion dollars a year.
And there's more. We operate one of the largest Information Technology
networks in the country. We do translation services, including for
the government of New Brunswick, and we run the Canadian General
Standards Board which sets labeling standards for consumer goods
in Canada.
And the department is also in the forefront of "greening"
government. We've cut greenhouse gas emissions from federal office
buildings by a third. And the government is now the single largest
operator of energy-efficient hybrid vehicles in the country.
So as you can see, Public Works and Government Services Canada
does a lot and as I said before, for the most part, it does it well.
But clearly there is always room to do better. Thanks to the efforts
of my predecessors, the Honourable Ralph Goodale and the Honourable
Stephen Owen, many improvements have already been made and
others are well underway.
For example, there is a rigorous new management structure, better
management of our advertising programs, and we have developed an
Integrity Plan and Ethics Program that the Conference Board of Canada
judged "best practice in Canada." Every penny my senior
officers spend on travel and meals is now posted on our Web site
and starting next month every contract we sign worth more than $10,000
will be posted as well.
Again, I'd like to thank my predecessors for laying the groundwork.
But now I believe is the time to build on the positive changes and
make fundamental reforms that can transform the way we do business
as a government…the types of changes that demonstrate consistent
respect for hard-earned taxpayers dollars.
I'm delighted to see my colleague, the Honourable John McCallum,
here today. He's heading the Expenditure Review Committee which
I'm pleased to be part of. It's a group tasked with reviewing all
government programs and service delivery to enhance their effectiveness,
and in the process, save taxpayers a cumulative $12 billion
over the next five years…money that is being reallocated to
key government priorities such as health care, child care, and communities.
And I'm hoping that my department can play a key role in finding
those savings.
Some people may question why a government that is in a surplus
fiscal situation would devote so much time and effort to expenditure
review. The real question — and I know John McCallum agrees
— is why wouldn't all governments review their spending on
an ongoing basis to eliminate waste and improve efficiency…to
use that money wisely on what Canadians care about most, such as
the health care accord signed last week.
In that vein, today I want to outline my strategic vision on where
I hope to take the department…a vision of transformative change
that reflects the wisdom of best practice models from both the private
and public sectors.
It's early days. But with a lot of hard work already done, I'm confident
we can improve services, reduce costs and save hundreds of millions
of dollars…perhaps billions of dollars over time.
And again, I want to stress, my goal is to find cost efficiencies
without reducing services to Canadians. In fact, we intend to deliver
these services smarter and faster.
As I said, we're still in the early stages of the process. But
thanks to extensive research and spadework, we've identified a three-point
strategy to streamline government while improving services.
First, my department is the key procurement arm of the entire
government. The Government of Canada spends $13 billion a year
on goods and services. However, too many of our buys are one-off,
done in isolation and as such fail to take advantage of economies
of scale. Some of that $13 billion of purchasing is in special
commodity areas where it may be difficult to achieve better economies.
But think about it. If we can achieve 10% savings, just 10% on
only 10 billion dollars of our procurement, that would represent
an additional $1 billion dollars per year to invest in the
priorities of Canadians. Smarter buying should make a huge contribution
to the efficiency of government.
Already we are working with IBM to implement the Government of
Canada Marketplace: an innovative E-procurement portal that will
ensure better and faster buying.
And my Parliamentary Secretary, the Honourable Walter Lastewka,
is doing some excellent work heading the most comprehensive and
extensive review of government procurement policies since 1963.
Walter, in case you didn't know, is a former executive of General
Motors Canada with years of experience in purchasing. His preliminary
report will be posted on our department's Web site in the next few
days, officially launching a public consultation process.
I don't want to steal Walt's thunder but the approach he has in
mind is both innovative and achievable. Good work, Walt.
Second, there is a real opportunity for savings in our real estate
area where we now spend $3 billion a year. Again, why shouldn't
we aim to save about 10% a year by doing business better and more
efficiently.
The federal government is the largest administrator of office
space in the country with some 6.7 million square metres of
space. I have trouble imagining just how much that is, but it just
might be too much.
One of the things we want to examine in greater depth is the economics
of owning our own office buildings. The truth is, being a landlord
is not a core business of government, nor should it be. Studies
show we spend more to operate our properties and have more space
per employee than the industry average. We're simply not as efficient.
I know some of the people in this room have decided it makes more
sense to lease than to own. The CIBC, the Royal Bank, the Bank of
Montreal, Bell Canada, even the CBC, and in my part of the country
Sobeys have come to this conclusion to one extent or another.
So have the governments of Australia and New Zealand, and my sister
department south of the border, the U.S. General Services Administration,
is moving in this direction as well. Our initial analysis suggests
we should at least look more closely at this.
Again, we'll consult widely before decisions are made. And we
certainly will do nothing to impact the government visibility and
presence in communities across Canada.
In the near future, I intend to enlist investment bankers to help
us attain the granular information we need before moving forward.
Thirdly, we are also looking to improve the business of government
by modernizing our information technology systems. For example,
we are working on "Secure Channel," one of the most sophisticated
secure networks in the world. It is already being used by government
departments and we hope that by 2005, about 100 government services
will be going on-line.
I think you'll agree that this is an ambitious vision for change
and frankly it won't be easy.
Deciding to make fundamental changes will require dedication and
the hard work of all my team. It will require that some of us change
the way we've always done things. And we need to make responsible
choices.
That's what the public deserves from their government.
Let's face it, the choices we face in government are not as tough
as those faced by a family, with two kids, earning under $30,000
a year.
We've already had some discussion with our employees. As we move
ahead, we will make every effort to rely on attrition and redeployment
to protect our staff. Openness, transparency and respect will be
the trademarks of our dealings with employees. I look forward to
working with the dedicated public servants in my department and
I will be depending on them for their ideas, understanding, energy
and commitment.
No changes will be made without further consultations with staff,
with industry and of course with Members of Parliament.
We're going to be asking for the help, advice and support of all
our stakeholders including suppliers and property managers as we
move forward. I also plan to meet with my provincial counterparts
to explore possible collaboration in the delivery of government
services. We are all interested in having better and smarter governments.
After all, there is only one taxpayer.
I'm extremely fortunate in having David Marshall, my Deputy Minister,
fully committed to seeing that we achieve our goals. Some in this
audience will remember David from when he was vice-chairman of CIBC,
so you know I have as my right hand man a professional and talented
administrator known for getting results.
The transformative change that I'm proposing will affect all departments
of government. So I will be reaching out to all my Cabinet colleagues.
Success will depend on a team effort.
I'm especially looking forward to working with my colleague, the
Honourable Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board. He's doing
important work on changes to the Financial Administration Act
to increase the accountability of public servants and parliamentarians
and also on whistleblower protection. Reg and I are equally determined
that the interests of the taxpayer and the need for an efficient
government will guide everything we do.
Our mantra in everything we do should be – let me rephrase
that, will be – "respect for hard earned taxpayers
dollars."
There is a tremendous amount of work to do in the days ahead. And
I intend to do it. All of us in political life have a responsibility
to always try to do better.
Today I pledge to you that I will approach this challenge of changing
the way government does business with steely determination.
We will be consulting and listening and working hard. Canadians
deserve nothing less. I am committed to delivering real progress
and look forward to making a difference.
Thank you.
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