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.