Ep. 496: Ballooning Public Service
Guest: Renaud Brossard, Montreal Economic Institute
According to the Montreal Economic Institute, Justin Trudeau ranks first among Canadian Prime Ministers over the past 40 years when it comes to the expansion in the size of the civil service.
In a recent study, MEI notes that “over the past few decades, the number of employees in the federal public service has fluctuated somewhat under the mandate of successive governments under Justin Trudeau's current government. However, we are witnessing a truly unprocessed identity expansion.”
Renaud Brossard speaks on behalf of MEI and he says, “An expanding public service has consequences that adversely affect the economy, including undue competition with the private sector for employees. And that, in turn, exacerbates the already challenging talent market.” The report goes on to show the increase on a percentage basis from Prime Ministers Mulroney to Trudeau; Mulroney and Chrétien both oversaw about 10% reduction. Martin and Harper also decreased the number of civil servants, but to a lesser extent. Prime Minister Trudeau's increase is a whopping 25%.
We invited Renaud Brossard of MEI to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the report and why a rapidly expanding civil service is a cause for concern.
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Check out their profile on our partnered program, Careers That Matter!
