Government of Canada names working group on public service productivity
The government of Canada has announced the creation of a working group to boost public service productivity, with a mandate to provide advice on how government can be more innovative, flexible and efficient in delivering services for Canadians by the end of March 2025.
Confirming the formation of the working group, Anita Anand, the president of the Treasury Board and minister of transport, said that – as the public sector accounts for nearly 40% of Canada’s overall gross domestic product – “it’s crucial to consider the role of the federal public service in strengthening Canada’s productivity”.
“This working group will help us find productivity solutions that will improve service delivery, support Canadians and businesses, and help strengthen our economy,” she added.
The government first announced the intention to form the working group in August, and the membership has now been confirmed.
The members of the group are:
- Bea Bruske, president, Canadian Labour Congress
- Benoît Robidoux, former senior associate deputy minister, Employment and Social Development Canada
- Laura Dawson, executive director, Future Borders Coalition
- Neil Yeates, former deputy minister, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- Shingai Manjengwa, senior director, Education and Development, Talent & Ecosystem, Mila
- Trevor Tombe, professor, Department of Economics, University of Calgary
- Wendy R. Carroll, associate professor, Department of Management, Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University
Working group members will participate on a pro bono basis without remuneration. The first meeting of the group was held on 11 December and it is expected the group will meet at least six times during its lifespan.
Read more: Canadian public servants invited to submit ideas for data and AI innovation
Governments around the world focus on greater efficiency
This is the latest move from a government to examine how to become more efficient. Incoming US president Donald Trump has announced the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency, with the aim to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies”.
Trump called the initiative “the Manhattan Project of our time”, referring to the American programme to develop the first atomic bomb, and appointed entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the project.
DOGE will not be a formal government agency but will work “from outside government” to provide “advice and guidance” to the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.
Read more: Japan looks to learn from Elon Musk’s US government efficiency programme
In the most recent UK Budget, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves set a productivity, efficiency and savings target for all departments, saying it would be vital to “driving efficiency and reducing wasteful spending”.
“We are setting a 2% productivity, efficiency and savings target for all departments to meet next year by using technology more effectively and joining up services across government,” she said.
Read more: UK Budget raises taxes by £40bn – but government departments must still make efficiency savings
About Richard Johnstone
Richard Johnstone is the executive editor of Global Government Forum, where he helps to produce editorial analysis and insight for the title’s audience of public servants around the world. Before joining GGF, he spent nearly five years at UK-based title Civil Service World, latterly as acting editor, and has worked in public policy journalism throughout his career.
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