Ottawa culture needs reboot
Paying workers is one of the most basic tasks that any organization, from the family-owned corner store to the biggest multinational corporation, has to get right. And it’s one that the Canadian government has, almost unbelievably, been unable to do properly for more than two years.
The culprit is the Phoenix pay system — and the pervasive culture of fear and obedience in the federal civil service that let this lemon of a system see the light of day.
Conceived of by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2009, it was projected to save $70 million annually by replacing hundreds of administrative staff with computer software. Instead, it’s now estimated that it could cost taxpayers $1.2 billion by the time it’s fixed, which is still years away.
Governments have a terrible track record when it comes to implementing new technology. This one, though, is particularly egregious: the senior public servants in charge actually managed to create something that was less efficient and more costly than the 40-year-old system it replaced.
Even more troubling than that — because it affects every aspect of the federal government — is the civil service culture that allowed this debacle to happen. That was outlined in clear and depressing detail by auditor general Michael Ferguson in his latest report to Parliament this week.
Plenty of problems cropped up as the pay system was being developed, but the bureaucrats who knew about it were afraid to tell their political masters. Instead, they continued on to deliver what they were told to and bulled ahead with a product that was on time and on budget over one that would actually work.
The result is a financial and emotional nightmare for tens of thousands of federal civil servants who have been overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all.
Ferguson’s report has plenty of worthy recommendations to improve project management and oversight stemming from this mess. But it’s his broader message that Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government needs to act on as well.
The halls of government are filled with “an obedient public service that fears mistakes and risk,” and has lost its ability to “convey hard truths” to senior levels including political ministers, Ferguson writes. “It’s easier for a deputy minister to just implement the will of the minister without question rather than provide fearless advice on the pitfalls that could arise and how to avoid them.”
That’s something that has developed over decades and was pushed to ever more troubling heights under Harper. He often saw the public service as an adversary; centralized power within his inner circle; insisted everyone be “on message”; and muzzled anyone who might not be, including government scientists. It amounted to a culture of fear that will take time to change.
But it’s important work that must be done. The public service needs to be revived so it can, once again, confidently provide expert advice to its political bosses.
While some politicians may like the idea of a public sector that does their bidding without question, bureaucrats who follow orders unthinkingly don’t produce the good government Canadians deserve.
Compliant bureaucrats don’t help produce the good policies and decisions Canadians deserve