Speech to Public Safety Canada Employee Townhall Meeting
May 17, 2011
Check against delivery
Introduction
Hello everyone. I’m happy to be here this afternoon.
Thank you for inviting me to your Town Hall!!
I believe that this is the first time I am speaking at a Public Safety Canada event and I am very pleased to have the opportunity.
Your Town Hall comes on the heels of some fairly historic events on both the domestic and international fronts.
Federal Election Campaign and Results
The 2011 federal election campaign may have seemed plodding at times but the results produced plenty of twists and turns!
We will have a very different Parliament when the House of Commons resumes sitting on June 2. The election is historic in terms of the new seat distribution in Parliament.
The pollsters, despite valiant attempts, were not close. Not only do we have a majority government, we have a brand new opposition party.
And the “centre” of Canada’s political spectrum has some tough questions to answer.
Not only will Parliament have a different look, it will have a different feel. For the first time in seven years we have a majority in the House of Commons.
The majority will bring much-needed stability as collectively we can stop worrying about the next confidence vote.
Both sides of government (elected and public service) will now be able to view, plan and strategize for our opportunities and challenges through a long-term lens and this will be good for Canada.
National Security
As I noted earlier, May has brought about two very significant events. The second is the death of Osama Bin Laden.
It won’t put an end to terrorism…one can always hope…
But the recovery of laptop computers, contact lists, documents, USB keys and DVDs from the compound he occupied will make us better prepared.
You may be monitoring for a spike in radical or extremist behaviour through your cross-cultural roundtables or placing an even greater emphasis on cyber security.
Our collective ability to track, conduct surveillance and thwart plans made by terrorist organizations has improved substantially, as has our success rate when it comes to criminal prosecutions.
This is in large part because of the collaborative efforts of people like you.
Spring Flooding Situation
Your efforts to protect Canadian citizens, of course, extends beyond the realm of terrorism.
I had the opportunity to accompany the Prime Minister to Manitoba last week.
We spent a day in the province seeing first hand the havoc and devastation caused by the swelling Assiniboine River. We listened as experts explained the delicacies and complexities of managing a controlled breach.
Issue of Leadership
The horizontal approach you adopted with DND, provincial emergency measures organizations and partners like the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Watershed Authorities has been key to the management of this operation.
I know that you folks have had a very busy and tiring few months, and it’s not over yet. I want to commend you and thank you for your efforts.
Canada’s Most Significant Challenges
As most of you know, it is not only the natural environment that poses challenges to those of us who work in the Public Service…the operating environment poses great challenges as well!!
It is generally accepted that Canada’s performance through the worldwide recession and its recovery since have been remarkable.
Due to our strong fundamentals, we entered the recession better positioned than most, and the Economic Action Plan was instrumental in keeping our economic engine running throughout.
Our recovery has been consistent and strong, if tempered by the slower, at times painful, recovery of our neighbour to our south.
The U.S. economy is under enormous strain, with massive federal deficit and debt levels.
In addition to the fact that our largest trading partner is struggling, the Canadian dollar is above par, meaning that our exporters have lost their price advantage and are having to work much harder in selling their goods.
It is arguable that this is the time for Canada to be purchasing and investing in machinery, equipment and R&D in addition to seeking new and more diverse trading relationships.
Although we have emerged from the global recession relatively unscathed, we still face some serious challenges on the horizon.
Productivity
We have a persistent productivity challenge. Our output per unit of labour continues to decline. We continue to lag behind the U.S. in productivity growth.
Simply put, as the majority of Canadians retire, the rate of growth in our labour force will decline.
This declining growth in the labour force will in turn put continuous downward pressure on productivity growth. If not managed properly, it will become a very vicious cycle.
To put this in context, our labour supply growth is expected to drop to 0.7 percent over the next 10 years, and without immigration, our labour force growth would actually be negative by 2016.
All other factors remaining constant, and even with our immigration levels in place, this slower rate of growth will translate into reduced economic output and increased pressure on tax receipts.
The reality is that these factors combined may pose a challenge to the Government’s ability to meet the growing demand for public services.
Addressing Canada’s Productivity Problems
So what is government doing about this you may ask…
Taxes
Well to begin with, the Government has cut taxes.
For example, it has cut both the GST and corporate income tax rates and it remains committed to keeping them low.
Canada now has the lowest corporate tax rates for new businesses’ investment in the G8.
The objective of these cuts is to help Canadian employers invest, create jobs and grow.
Government introduced the Hiring Credit for Small Business, which, by providing small businesses a break on EI for one year, will reduce pay roll costs on new jobs and encourage hiring.
It also brought about the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment to help businesses and exporters invest, improve productivity and stay competitive.
Review of Federal Support to R&D
To facilitate innovation and commercialization, we are also conducting a review of the Government’s Research and Development spending to determine:
- What initiatives are most effective in increasing R&D and promoting commercially relevant partnerships;
- Whether the current mix and design of tax incentives and direct support for business R&D is leading to much-needed commercialization in our economy; and
- Where the gaps in our R&D strategy lie and how best to address them.
International Trade
Finally, we are expanding international trade by strengthening existing relationships while seeking out new ones.
We are aggressively pursuing trade agreements with emerging markets and non-traditional trading partners. Canada has signed trade agreements with eight countries and launched negotiations with 50 other countries including India and the European Union.
Demographic Challenges
Aging population
In addition to our productivity challenges, we face issues on the demographic front.
I referenced the consequences our aging population will have on the Government’s ability to meet the growing demand for public services a little earlier.
Essentially, our evolving demographics will force us to absorb mounting pension and health care costs at the same time as the labour supply dries up and the international competition for high quality labour has increased.
Canada is aging much more rapidly than other countries given that our baby boom took place in the 1950s and 1960s.
Currently we are the 27th oldest country in the world with 15.5 percent of our population 65 and over. In one generation we will be the 11th oldest country in the world.
We will have double the population of seniors that we have now.
Many of our global competitors will be much younger. For example, the United States will be the 47th oldest, Australia will be the 46th oldest, the U.K. will be the 38th oldest and France will be the 29th oldest.
In light of our rapidly aging population and its implications for our labour and talent pool, we will have some tough choices to make.
Sorry folks, these choices will include convincing people like you to work longer!!!
The reality is that many Canadians are already working longer and that this growing group of “active seniors” represents an excellent opportunity to encourage them to continue participating in the labour force.
This is only part of the story though. It isn’t all negative news and it doesn’t have to end badly.
The upside actually lies at our fingertips, within our population. The upside can be accessed by creating a more inclusive society, one that invites all and helps everyone fulfill their potential.
It lies in making space for all those who already call Canada home as well as those whom we are trying to attract.
I am talking about our Aboriginal population, recent immigrants and new Canadians and the disabled.
By encouraging these Canadians to participate in the labour force, our productivity will improve and our talent pool will grow. This can only be achieved through improved social integration.
Aboriginal population
For example, Canada has a significant but an under-engaged and under-employed Aboriginal population. For too long this segment of our society has been marginalized despite all it has to offer.
Over the past decade the lines of communication have improved and a dialogue has commenced. Organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations have facilitated this process, and the timing couldn’t be better!
Nearly half the present Aboriginal population is under 25 and we are in the midst of an Aboriginal baby boom.
Projections indicate that 25,000 Aboriginal youth will enter the labour market each year, meaning that potentially 375,000 will reach working age in the next 15 years alone.
For the extreme keeners in the audience…here is a bonus fact for Jeopardy…by 2026, Aboriginals will make up 26 percent of the labour force in Saskatchewan and 22 percent in Manitoba!!
Kindergarten through 12 and post-secondary education, skills training and apprenticeship programs will be key here.
Immigration
By 2030, immigration will likely be the only source of population growth in Canada. By this time, we anticipate that 28 percent of the Canadian population will be foreign born and nearly half of this group will be coming from Asia.
Canada faces stiff competition for skilled immigrants from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. While still a highly attractive destination of choice, we cannot count on being the magnet that we once used to be.
We shine a little less today because we have not kept pace in offering those who choose Canada as their home gainful employment in their own field.
Some would argue that we have actually erected barriers to incorporating new Canadians in the workforce. We have all heard the story about the doctor having to take a job as a taxi driver.
Simply put, if we don’t facilitate transition into the labour market, it will cost us:
- In terms of social integration, as new Canadians may not be able to achieve financial independence, see their dreams realized and contribute to Canada as they had hoped;
- In terms of increased social assistance and health care costs (there are direct links between well-being, physical and mental health and successful integration) and the strain this will place on the federation; and
- In terms of our competitive edge, as we will experience the emigration of skilled immigrants who originally chose Canada.
On a positive note, we have recognized our challenge here and taken active measures.
We must continue to improve on these initiatives.
The Public Service of Today and Tomorrow
So what does all of this mean for the Public Service?
Well, to start with, in light of the policy challenges I just finished talking about, we know there is no shortage of things to do!
But before we focus on the long list of what needs to be done, we should spend some time on how to do it.
Eighteenth Report
Let me take a few minutes to talk about the 18th report to the Prime Minister on the state of the Public Service.
Central to the 18th report is excellence in all that we do.
I am talking about excellence in management, policy development, program and service delivery, and regulations.
In order to achieve this goal, we will need to reconfigure and recalibrate our approach.
Success traditionally has been predicated on building, expanding and growing.
But tradition, like all other things, must make way for change and a new way of doing things.
Excellence, will be trimmer, smarter and more contained.
It will be founded on creativity, adaptability and nimbleness.
It will thrive where resources, human or fiscal, are harnessed and shared.
Consider our climate of restraint both an opportunity and incentive to make real systemic change for a more modern, dynamic and effective Public Service.
All departments are about to launch Strategic and Operating Reviews where they will be asked to identify savings ranging from 5 to 10 percent.
We are moving into a period of prolonged restraint.
We will not succeed if we try to trim from everywhere. Instead, we need to change how we do business.
We need to consolidate our IT systems. This will be step one.
We need to standardize and centralize our administrative support functions (such as email).
We need to ask ourselves why so many departments have a front office service counter. Can we combine some of these service delivery offices across the country?
As managers, we have often been rewarded for increasing or retaining our budgets.
We now need to turn our approach on its head and reward public servants who are the most innovative in driving efficiencies, lowering costs and reducing budgets.
Based on the reports I received from deputies in response to the 2010-2011 Public Service Renewal Action Plan, I am confident that we are on the right track.
I know that you folks are.
I would like to take a moment to comment on the improvements you have made in your Management Accountability Framework (MAF).
I understand that you have made great strides in strengthening your MAF results and that you received ratings of “strong” in three areas:
- portfolio coordination;
- quality of our strategic outcome and governance; and
- support for the evaluation function.
This is exactly the management style and approach that I am talking about. Well done!
Other DMs have told me that collaboration has already enabled public servants to preserve or create programs by pooling resources rather than forfeiting them by going it alone.
Where training has become too costly, departments have developed their own in-house training and disseminated it via the Web.
We are moving toward a more collaborative, web-enabled and integrated environment (HR and business planning), knowing that this is the only way forward.
Now let me make a few comments about public sector outreach.
I have always felt that the public sector doesn’t have all the answers and doesn’t always know all the questions.
Our outreach with stakeholders, citizen groups, academics, non-governmental organizations and others outside government is of critical importance in ensuring that we are exposed to a broad spectrum of ideas, information and views.
Going forward, mine ideas from your colleagues. Talk to others about their best practices and approach. We can all learn from each other. I do it every day.
We have much to be proud of and have made significant strides in recent years.
I am proud of the Public Service and the spirit and commitment you demonstrate day in and day out.
I am confident we are well equipped to manage the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
I will close here. Thank you for your interest and attention.