Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 02

Our mission is to contribute to excellence in public service management EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief | George Ross george@promotivemedia.ca GUEST EDITOR | MICHAEL FENN MANAGING Editor | Marcello Sukhdeo marcello@promotivemedia.ca COPY EDITOR | James Brandon COLUMNISTS | ANDREW GRAHAM JEFFREY ROY HARVEY SCHACHTER ALISON TAYLOR LORI TURNBULL JOHN WILKINS EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD DENISE AMYOT, PENNY BALLANTYNE, Jim Connell, Michael Fenn, Lana Lougheed, John Milloy, Vic Pakalnis, Robert Shepherd, Andrew Treusch, David Zussman Sales & Events Vice President, Sales | Terri Pavelic 905-727-3875 x2 terri@promotivemedia.ca Director, Media Content & Events | Laskey S. Hart 905-727-3875 x5 laskey@promotivemedia.ca ART & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR | Elena Pankova elena@promotivemedia.ca Subscriptions and Address Changes Circulation Services | Mary Labao (905) 841-7389 circulation@promotivemedia.ca General Inquiries 1-226 Edward Street, Aurora, ON, L4G 3S8 Phone 905-727-3875 Fax 905-727-4428 www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca corporate Group Publisher | John Jones john@promotivemedia.ca Publisher’s Mail Agreement: 40052410 ISSN 1203-7893 Canadian Government Executive magazine is published 10 times per year by Navatar Press. All opinions expressed herein are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any person or organization associated with the magazine. Letters, submissions, comments and suggested topics are welcome, and should be sent to george@promotivemedia.ca Reprint Information Reproduction or photocopying is prohibited without the publisher’s prior written consent. High quality reprints of articles and additional copies of the magazine are available through circulation@promotivemedia.ca . Privacy Policy: We do not sell our mailing list or share any confidential information on our subscribers. We acknowledge the financial support of the Govern- ment of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca 6 / Canadian Government Executive // March/April 2018 The mission of CGE is to profile and celebrate the work of public servants at all levels of government and to provide helpful tools and perspectives that busy government executives can use on a day to day basis. In this issue of CGE, we focus on the challenges facing the future of cities, municipal gov- ernment and infrastructure investments. I’m delighted to be joined this month by guest editor Michael Fenn. Michael, a member of the CGE Editorial Advisory Board, is no stranger to the municipal public service community having spent a career in a variety of roles includ- ing as CAO of Hamilton Region and Burlington and as a Deputy Minister in the Province of Ontario. He has a unique perspective on issues and trends facing city governments, and his input has shaped our March/April edition. In this issue, we look at the current Federal Government’s Smart Cities Challenge, which has garnered much interest and has generated a vast array of opinions. In this issue, I sat down with Janice Fukakusa, the Chair of Canada Infrastructure Bank Board, and Annette Antoniak, the CAO of the Municipality of Wood Buffalo, who brings us up to speed on the recovery efforts in Fort McMurray as that community dealS with the aftermath of the devastating 2016 wildfire. Also in this edition, we profile CGE’s recent highly successful TechGov conference, which brought together some of the world’s leading thinkers on the future of government. Of interest at the conference were two keynote speeches from Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board, and Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council. Their messages give us a glimpse into the commitment of the Government of Canada to a new vision of public service built on the tried-and-true traditions of an independent and professional public service that is ever evolving with the country and its citizens. Lastly, CGE is delighted to announce “it’s new ‘Game Changer’ feature” where we will profile individuals and groups who are fundamentally shaping the public service landscape nationally and globally. Our first Game Changer award goes to Robyn Scott and Lisa Witter, co-founders of Apolitical, a new international platform for sharing and highlighting best practices in public policy and management globally. Apolitical is very active on the Canadi- an scene, and I encourage all practitioners to investigate what they have to offer by visiting apolitical.co . The CGE website will be fea- turing content from Apolitical going forward, and we are delighted to be working with them closely. As always, feedback is welcome. From George Ross, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Government Executive | Email: george@promotivemedia.ca . This month, CGE looks at the role of cities, municipal government and infrastructure invest- ment in Canada. Municipal governments are an important, but often taken-for-granted, part of the Canadian governmental scene, relegated by the Constitution to being “creatures of the Province” (and Territories). Yet, global economic competition is among city-regions, and clusters of economic activity and innovation are focused on cities, as demonstrated by the recent “innovation supercluster” awards by the Government of Canada. When governments and public pension funds across Canada decide to invest in infrastruc- ture, they realize that fully 60 per cent of all Canada’s infrastructure is in local government hands. Our local governments employ hundreds of thousands of public servants, and with- out them, Canada would not have the quality of life that we enjoy. The same is true for innovation. For generations, local governments have been the “labo- ratories of the public sector,” developing policies and programs that are tested locally and, if successful, often scaled-up for use across a broader footprint. From social policy and social media channels, to solid waste recycling and rural broadband, municipal governments and local utilities have made essential contributions to program design and policy development over the past several decades. This edition of CGE highlights this spirit of local innovation, in municipalities of varying sizes. From the City of Toronto’s chief innovation officer to a review of the smart cities initia- tives and the role of people and culture in effecting reforms and innovation, public servants across Canada are given a peek into their future. Megatrends will affect us all, and cities are where they will first manifest themselves. If we anticipate and manage these trends, Canada’s public services will continue their tradition of adaptability, creativity and excel- lence. From Guest Editor, Michael Fenn, Senior Advisor, StrategyCorp | Email: mfenn@strategycorp.com | Phone and text: 647.638.3747 web editor’s note