Overview
The federal public service plays a vital role in Canada’s development by helping to shape public policies and deliver programs and services to Canadians. Speaking Truth to Canadians about Their Public Service provides a comprehensive review of the challenges confronting the public service, how the relationship between politicians and career officials has evolved in recent years, and what motivates public servants. Donald Savoie calls on Canadians and their politicians to consider what they want from their federal public service. Answering this question requires a fresh look at the government’s traditional accountability requirements, how policies are shaped, and how government programs and services are delivered. It also requires a review of ambitious modernization and reform measures launched over the past forty years to make the public service more accommodating to political direction and to improve program delivery. Dividing federal public servants into two groups – poets (those who write policy) and plumbers (those who deliver programs and services) – the book establishes who has the upper hand. This division sheds new light on the theories that seek to explain the attitudes and behaviours of career government officials. Amid increasingly strong signs that the public service is in need of a reset, Speaking Truth to Canadians about Their Public Service concludes with practical recommendations to assist Canadians and their politicians in defining what they want their public service to be.
Full Product Details
Author: Donald J. Savoie
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Imprint: McGill-Queen's University Press
ISBN: 9780228021384
ISBN 10: 0228021383
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 10 September 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
“Savoie is the acknowledged dean of Canadian public administration. He knows the public sector both as an observer and a participant and makes the case for serious reform in an honest and accessible way. His diagnosis should be required reading for present and future public servants and policymakers, and his critique is nothing less than a stone thrown through the stained-glassed window of bureaucratic resistance to change.” Michael Kaczorowski, The Ottawa Citizen
Author Information
Donald J. Savoie holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance (Tier 1) at the Université de Moncton. He is the author of numerous books including Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity and Democracy in Canada: The Disintegration of Our Institutions.
