Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 03

OUR MISSION IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR | J. RICHARD JONES john@promotivemedia.ca DEPUTY EDITOR | LORI TURNBULL lori@promotivemedia.ca MANAGING EDITOR | MARCELLO SUKHDEO marcello@promotivemedia.ca COLUMNISTS | JEFFREY ROY HARVEY SCHACHTER 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, CONTENT & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | DAVID BLONDEAU 905-727-3875 david@promotivemedia.ca ART & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR | ELENA PANKOVA elena@promotivemedia.ca SUBSCRIPTIONS AND ADDRESS CHANGES CIRCULATION SERVICES | circulation@promotivemedia.ca GENERAL INQUIRIES 21374, 2nd Concession Rd, East Gwillimbury, ON, L9N 0H7 Phone 905-727-3875 Fax 905-727-4428 www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca CORPORATE GROUP PUBLISHER | J. RICHARD JONES john@promotivemedia.ca Publisher’s Mail Agreement: 40052410 ISSN 1203-7893 Canadian Government Executive magazine is published 6 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 lori@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 Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca 4 / Canadian Government Executive // May/June 2021 WEB A lot has been happening across Canada. From COVID-19 vaccines to immunity passports, a looming election, digitizing, anddiversity. And in this editionof CanadianGovernment Executive, we try to touch on all of these trending topics to bring you a public sector perspective. At the time of writing, more than 50 per cent of Canadians age 12 and up have received the required two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which means that 44 per cent of all Canadians are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. To various degrees, countries around the world are rolling out their vaccine programs as well. With this massive global vaccine rollout, there is hope that the world’s population will become immune to COVID-19 and in many respects, life will return to normal. One of the norms people are looking forward to is travelling. Travel and tourism have been severely affected during the pandemic. As more and more people are getting vaccinated and travel restrictions are easing, the question that keeps popping up relates to the COVID-19 vac- cine passport. In his article, Vijay Raj analyzes the issue of immunity certificates ‘passports’ in Canada as an inter-governmental problem and explores possible solutions and recommendations to address it. He points out that while some argue for the benefits of immunity certificates, there are many on the other side who are voicing their concerns around privacy and the socio-economic impli- cations such as stigma and its impact on marginalized communities. He argues for adopting a human-centred design approach to the problem of immunity certificates. With the Liberal government still a long way in completing its full term, polls indicate that a majority government for them is within reach if an election is to be held shortly. Dr. Lori Turn- bull writes that in the past, parties in Canada have been accused of crowding the political centre in the scramble for votes, thereby failing to offer a true spectrum of choices based on competing values and policy choices. But this election stands to be different with the parties’ offerings likely be more distinctive than usual. Digitizing is taking a whole new perspective due to the pandemic. Organizations are rethink- ing service delivery models that are incorporating digital platforms. A 2020 Deloitte report proj- ects increased public demand for virtual government services for the foreseeable future. Albert Ruvuza writes about this trend that organizations are integrating into their service delivery to comply with social distancing rules while embracing consumer demands like instant messaging. Achieving diversity has been an expanding goal within public service. Megan Fowler writes about how nowmore than ever, the public service is imbued with diversity and inclusion through specialized positions, strategies, and commitments. She explores in her article the mainstream leadership ideas, Indigenous leadership styles, and then connects the two through the public service’s expressed commitment to diversity and inclusion. To round out this issue, be sure to check the CGE Dashboard on how the Canadian economy fare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks for reading this issue. Stay safe. Marcello Sukhdeo Managing Editor, Canadian Government Executive marcello@promotivemedia.ca EDITOR’S NOTE