Public Sector Employment in Canada

Outline and assess the scope (range) of public sector employment in Canada. What are the main issues facing the federal government with respect to personnel policy and how well do you believe the federal government is organized to manage its personnel responsibilities?

The Canadian government provides many public services throughout Canada as it looks after the needs of the public. In order for this to happen, the government needs an enormous amount of staff to work these services. The federal government is responsible for the largest amount of employment in Canada. There are many roles in the public sector that have to be filled. Some are a lawyer, nurse, teacher and even a fire-fighter. The ranges of these positions are endless. In Canada, the public sector is divided into two major components: governments and government business enterprises. The government component is made up of the three levels of government, federal, provincial, and municipal and all of their departments. Also, included with these are all the social and health service institutions. They consist of hospitals, school systems, post-secondary schools, cultural facilities, and all federal and provincial agencies. The government business enterprise component is made up of all public enterprises that engage in the provision and sale of commercial goods and services. Some examples of these bodies are the CBC, Canada Post, Hydro Quebec and SaskEnergy. Johnson states that, in 2004, total public sector employment within Canada accounted for roughly 2.9 million people. Of these 2.9 million people, 366,000 were employed by the federal government, 1.4 million were in provincial or territorial government services, roughly 908,000 were in municipal government employment, ...

... middle of paper ...

...untability Act was an omnibus piece of legislation that covered many diverse matters. The Conservatives were not going to diminish something that they believed in. In response to the report, the Harper government took initiatives such as removing the right of employees in the minister offices to be appointed without competition to permanent positions in the public service. They designated deputy ministers as accounting officers for their departments and laid out the matters for which they would be accountable before the appropriate committees of Parliament. They created a regime to resolve disputes between ministers and deputies and ensured that a copy of any Treasury Board decisions over such disputes be submitted to the Auditor General. The Harper government drew a firm line when it came to establishing bureaucrats as separate and distinct from elected officials.