La fonction publique canadienne a perdu ses repères

Some thirty years ago, politicians in Anglo‐American democracies introduced a series of measures designed to give them the upper hand in shaping public policy and to push senior public servants to become better managers. The government of Canada was no exception. Politicians essentially decided to look to the private sector to improve public sector management. The efforts have failed, have been costly to taxpayers, and have knocked the federal public service off its moorings. The article argues that the public service needs to rediscover its roots and walk away from simple assumptions tied to economic self‐interest and deductive models and from the mantra that reforms inspired by the private sector can drive productive change in the public sector.     

Federal policy ideas and involvement in Canadian urban transit, 2002‐2017

Although provincial and local governments bear primary responsibility for urban transit projects and operations in Canada, the Government of Canada engages intermittently in this policy field, mainly through research and short‐term funding programs. This article analyzes federal policy concerning urban transit over the period 2002‐2017, with a substantive focus on policy ideas—the cognitive and normative concepts that provide direction for, and shape the perceived legitimacy of, policy choices. Through a thematic content analysis of policy documents, this article explicates the paradigms, programmatic foci, frames and public sentiments that have underpinned federal urban transit policy over this 15‐year period.     

Avoiding blame,doing good,and claiming credit: Reforming Canadian income security

Abstract: This article examines federal legislation, An Act to Amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act (Bill C-36), from the vantage point of the contemporary politics of welfare state reform. Government decisions on the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) made in the 1990s noticeably generated political and administrative feedback to the policy agenda and policy development processes. Bill C-36 was the response by policy-makers to solve these issues and use the occasion to make other changes they had been contemplating. The legislative reforms contained the imposition of specific losses for one group; the introduction of benefits for another group, both geographically diffuse clienteles; and, for all covered by these programs, modest improvements in service provision. Inside the federal public service, officials responsible for the CPP Disability program acted effectively as policy entrepreneurs, making use of a window of opportunity, and the necessity of amending the legislation, prompted by the focusing event of a critical audit report.     

Comparing accountability relationships between governments and non‐state actors in Canadian and European international development policy

This article examines the alignment of different governance arrangements and alternative accountability mechanisms in international development policy making in Canada and the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on relationships between governments and non‐governmental organizations. The Canadian case illustrates an entrepreneurial mode of governance that aligns with fiscal auditing and performance management mechanisms, while the networked governance model of the EU relies more heavily on accountability instruments of public reporting and deliberation. The article concludes that the European accountability regime likely provides policy makers with more opportunities for social policy learning but would be difficult to implement in Canada given the underlying action logic of the federal government.     

Invisible populations: LGBTQ people and federal health policy in Canada

This article reviews the state of federal health policy discourse toward the LGBTQ population in Canada. Despite the advent of greater attention to diversity and gender mainstreaming in federal public policy and the shift to legalized rights protections for LGBTQ people, symbolized by policies such as same‐sex marriage, LGBTQ health concerns continue to be marginalized in federal health policy. Based on a systematic review of federal policy documents and websites as well as a small number of interviews with federal policy‐makers, the research demonstrates the extent to which LGBTQ health concerns are rendered invisible in federal health policy. The article suggests several ways in which a commitment to gender‐based policy analysis could be expanded to take account of diverse health needs of LGBTQ Canadians.     

Public health and collaborative governance

Abstract: The nature of governance in Canada, both horizontally (between federal departments) and vertically (between federal and provincial governments) is changing. Or is it? Two distinct trends seem to have emerged over the past decade: one towards horizontal coordination and one towards vertical collaboration. These trends are perhaps best exemplified by the Public Health Agency of Canada, which depends very emphatically on integrated relationships both with other federal departments and with provincial and territorial governments. Yet in the past year, severe criticisms have emerged regarding the agency's ability to meet its objectives. To what extent are these problems due to the failure of collaborative governance? On a wider level, have decision-makers been too insouciant about making importunate public policy decisions on an assumption of the viability of collaborative governance? This article argues that problems in vertical collaboration in public health have occurred largely due to failures in horizontal coordination within the national government.     

The conundrum of absenteeism in the Canadian public service: A wicked problem perspective

Absenteeism has received increasing attention in public sectors across the world. In Canada's federal public service, absenteeism cost the government approximately $871 million in lost wages in 2013 alone (Barkel 2014a ). Current and previous Canadian governments have attempted to reform sick‐leave policy to reduce absenteeism, but simple solutions to a complex problem will likely result in negative and unforeseen consequences. This article conceptualizes absenteeism as a “wicked problem” to explore its complexity. Addressing absenteeism requires a deeper understanding of issues and factors by government representatives, unions, NGOs, and policy experts, which can lead to multifaceted solutions.     

La capacité d'analyse des politiques au gouvernement du Québec : Résultats du sondage auprès de fonctionnaires québécois

Abstract: This research note complements the work of Howlett et al. on the capacity of Canadian governments for public policy‐making. The new public management wave was driven by the notion of a need for improved service delivery to the population. A number of authors, including Metcalfe, pointed out that the government was then neglecting management in favour of “policy advice.” It was fashionable to show interest in policy but not in management. After decades spent seeking greater efficiency, have we gone too far in the other direction? Do governments have the capacity to develop public policy? Have those responsible for developing public policy received the training they require? This research note addresses the Quebec portion of the Canada‐wide survey on the capacity for public policy‐making. It complements the analysis by presenting the results of the survey conducted among public servants in Quebec. We placed particular emphasis on university education and the retraining of the public servants who work on developing and formulating public policy.     

Multilevel policy from the municipal perspective: A pan‐Canadian survey

Building on in‐depth case studies and extensive theory‐building by Canadian multilevel governance scholars, this article identifies and describes multilevel policy involvement by federal, provincial, municipal, private, and NGO actors in three policy phases and eighteen policy domains that specifically involve local governments in Canada. Drawing from an original pan‐Canadian survey of municipal mayors and councillors, we show that municipal politicians see multilevel policy involvement as remarkably prevalent across many policy domains. Using an original measure of multilevel policy involvement, we identify the policy domains in which policy involvement is most concentrated or fragmented and then describe the correlates of this measure. Multilevel policy involvement, we argue, is more clearly associated with policy phase and policy domain than with municipal population or region. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future research.     

Getting engaged: Public‐service merit and motivation revisited

Abstract: The concepts of merit and motivation are central to recruiting and retaining high‐quality public servants. The meaning of merit has evolved to the more flexible interpretation contained in the 2003 federal Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), and the concept of motivation has become much more central to public management. The PSEA enshrines merit and non‐partisanship as the main values to be protected in public‐service appointments. It also provides a new definition of merit. Employees with a high level of public‐service motivation (PSM) are predisposed to having greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment and, therefore, to performing at a higher level. The challenge is to recruit and retain employees with a high PSM level and to maintain this level while fostering high performance by other employees. This challenge is being pursued in part by fostering employee engagement in the sense of job/organization satisfaction and organizational commitment. Among the major drivers of employee engagement is fair staffing practices, including merit‐based hiring. The successful pursuit of a high level of employee engagement can improve public‐sector management in general and human resource management in particular.     

Management improvement in the Canadian public service, 1999–2010

This article surveys management improvement initiatives in the federal public service during the 2000s and assesses their progress. It reviews eight key areas: management accountability; expenditure management; financial management; human resource management; grants and contributions management; project management and capital investment; internal audit; and processes to sustain public service values and ethics. Although not all of the initiatives have been equally successful, this article argues that general improvement has been realized. The article also considers factors behind the successes, arguing that improvements typically arise from a combination of political, organizational, cultural and economic factors including public service leadership and support at the political level. Recent budget pressures may affect the sustainability of continuing management improvement, but elements for moving forward are clear.     

Partners in clime: Public‐private partnerships and British Columbia's capacity to pursue climate policy objectives

Governments are increasingly using public‐private partnerships (P3s) to draw the private sector into more active participation in infrastructure development. Climate action initiatives have not typically yielded profitable results for the private sector, and might therefore constrain the placing of conditions by governments on P3 arrangements. This article investigates a major P3 infrastructure project in British Columbia – the Canada Line extension to Vancouver's urban rail transit network – and concludes that the P3 organization did not constrain the government's capacity to pursue policy objectives for climate action. This counterintuitive result occurred because public sector leadership enabled an effective engagement with environmental policy priorities.     

墨西哥的政策调整与民主转型

墨西哥一党制威权政体的民主转型呈现出渐进性、长期性、平和性等特点,这主要是由于墨西哥的威权统治者在缓解合法性危机的过程中综合运用了政策调整和政治结构改革两种工具。具体而言,就是墨西哥革命制度党通过国家干预主义政策、新自由主义政策和政治结构的渐进调整塑造了墨西哥民主转型的特殊路径。对墨西哥民主转型过程的考察分析表明,公共政策是长期以来被民主化研究遗忘的视角,但却是一个重要的视角。     

Understanding third‐party advertising: An analysis of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Canadian elections

For approximately two decades, the federal regulation for third‐party election spending was the focus of repeated constitutional debate. However, with the 2004 Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Canada, a relative level of policy stability has been established. This stability permits us to evaluate the performance of spending limits according to the principles of the egalitarian model on which it is based. Using an original data set compiled from third‐party election advertising reports from the 2004, 2006 and 2008 federal elections, this article offers the first empirical analysis of this important election policy. A number of observations can be offered. First, third parties are not spending large amounts relative to spending limits. Second, despite legislative changes in 2006 banning all federal party contributions except those from individuals, there appears little strategic action by third parties in spending “around” contribution limits. During this three‐election cycle, third parties quite simply did not spend significant amounts. Current third‐party spending limits therefore appear to be situated comfortably within the expectations of the egalitarian model, though why third parties of all types spend so little remains in question.     

Les réformes des finances publiques en France : évolutions et enjeux

Abstract: France, like many other countries, has undertaken an in‐depth reform of its public finances over the past few years. The originality of the French system lies in the fact that the reforms focused strongly on the three sub‐systems of public finance (i.e., government finance, local finance and social finance). The reforms are designed, on the one hand, to streamline the French public financial system and to provide a certain consistency for addressing its inherent complexity and, on the other, to clarify the roles of the various public stakeholders in order to allow for better management of the country's public finances.     

Does public reporting measure up? Federalism,accountability and child-care policy in Canada

Abstract: Governments in Canada have recently been exploring new accountability measures within intergovernmental relations. Public reporting has become the preferred mechanism in a range of policy areas, including early learning and child-care, and the authors assess its effectiveness as an accountability measure. The article is based on their experience with a community capacity-building project that considers the relationship between the public policy, funding and accountability mechanisms under the federal/provincial/territorial agreements related to child-care. The authors argue that in its current form, public reporting has not lived up to its promise of accountability to citizens. This evaluation is based on the standards that governments have set for themselves under the federal/provincial/territorial agreements, as well as guidelines set by the Public Sector Accounting Board, an independent body that develops accounting standards over time through consultation with governments.     

Rethinking policy capacity in Canada: The role of parties and election platforms in government policy‐making

Abstract: There is an ongoing debate in western industrialized democracies about the genesis of government policy capacity. This article examines this under‐explored issue by looking at the election campaign commitments made by political parties. The author reviews the election policy manifestos of the parties that governed in Canada from 1984 to 2008, some of the proposed policy changes advanced during election campaigns, and the actions taken by governing parties to fulfil those commitments. This research demonstrates that parties were relatively unconstrained in advancing detailed election platforms to the electorate and that they were able to fulfil, or partially fulfil, those commitments at fairly significant levels – particularly incumbent governments, who could draw on their governing experience and the policy advice given by the public service. The author contends that governing parties in Canada possess a high degree of policy‐making capacity and that they have the ability both to advance and implement fairly detailed plans for governing. These findings confirm that political parties are an important source of policy‐making capacity and that such capacity is enhanced by public‐service input.     

Departmental audit committees and governance: Making management and accountability the priority from the top down

Abstract: One of the key policies arising from the Federal Accountability Act 2006 was the requirement for deputy heads to establish “department and agency audit committees.” These committees comprise retired public servants, academics and leaders from the private sector. This policy requires deputy heads to take advice from “outside” advisers for the management of their departments or agencies. This is unprecedented. The author examines the reform antecedents of this policy, key implementation considerations, and what this is likely to mean for management in the federal public service.     

“三个代表”、公共利益与政府改革

本文认为,“三个代表”思想的核心和归宿是代表最广大人民群众的根本利益问题,即公共利益。为实现这个目标,中国共产党作为执政党,通过公共财政、公共政策和公共管理等一系列公共机构的公共服务,政府行为是公共服务的载体,去实现公共利益。最大程度地表达和实现公共利益,是政府行政伦理的根本问题,而完成这个行政伦理的关键,是保证政府行为与公共利益的互动关系。政府改革正是建立和调整这一互动机制的动态变革过程。     

刑事司法改革导向与公众诉求的冲突及其消解

目前,我国刑事司法改革的导向无疑是构建符合程序正义和人权保障要求的现代刑事司法制度。但是在这个过程中,愈演愈烈的涉法上访等现象无疑揭示了社会公众对司法制度及其裁判结果的强烈不满,从而使刑事司法的改革导向与公众诉求之间产生显在的冲突。这种现象的存在,主要原因或许是我们过于强调刑事司法在程序正义和人权保障向度上的改造,而忽略了社会公众的认同。而社会公众一旦对刑事司法改革产生感情上的疏离,仅仅依靠刑事诉讼制度的完美设计不可能获得公众的认同。因此,我们必须采取切实可行的措施使刑事司法改革获得最大程度的公众认同,缩小改革导向与公众诉求之间的距离。