Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 04

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. 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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 // July/August 2021 WEB We are now a matter of days away from a federal election in Canada. With over 27 million Ca- nadians on the National Register of Electors, and with a turnout that is expected to be below 60 per cent, Canada is on the verge of facing some grim reforms. The pandemic, the economy, the housing market, manufacturing, to have or not to have a vaccine passport, the dire situation in Afghanistan – these are some big issues that will help shape the Canada of the future. The changes that each political party is campaigning around will no doubt change Canada from both a public sector and a private sector perspective. On the election issue, Lori Turnbull writes about the election that no one wanted. By calling an early election, the intent of the Liberal government is to turn its minority status into a major- ity. This, of course, is what the polls were suggesting, a majority for Prime Minister Trudeau. But now that we have the campaigning in full swing, a different picture is being painted through the polls - one where the Conservatives are gaining ground and with a possible win for Erin O’Toole. So, what happens if the Liberals don’t get their majority? Check out Lori’s piece to find out. Speaking about reforms, John Wilkins, CGE columnist, writes about how decades of reform point to four enduring dilemmas. For it to really work, reformmust be implemented with agility, learning on the go, and sharing knowledge about what works and does not work in practice. He points out that Canada has perhaps the most decentralized system of government in the world. Policy, programming, and service delivery are designed horizontally to manage this reality. A moderate tradition of incremental reform features four interrelated streams: (1) modernizing management practices; (2) deficit reduction; (3) people management; and (4) transparency and reporting. Taking a thematic view of parallel initiatives synergizes relationships, reforms, and results. To help us move forward we need good leaders. But what constitutes a good leader? Nancy Rao, a public servant with the Province of Ontario describes a true leader as one who is involved in spending more time listening rather than speaking, trusting their staff, and seeking their ad- vice. A leader’s job is to nurture employees’ abilities and to provide the necessary tools so that they can in turn lead. Leading from behind supports members of the team in driving forward the organization. They partake enthusiastically in successes that foster personal growth and rec- ognize contributions. As we reach this moment in time, we now more than ever need great, true, and strong leaders to help steer and position Canada for the future. As the world continues to battle Covid, there is still the bigger issue that has been looming for a while – threats from cyberspace. Jeffrey Roy, writing in his column, talks about three facets to strengthen the governance of cyberspace – (1) the need for multilateral dialogue and coor- dinated response, governments must prioritize open-source architectures and open standards across public and private infrastructure, (2) shifting away from an excessive reliance on propri- etary solutions that heighten dependency on secretive outsourcing and (3) governments must prioritize digital literacy at home. Other articles in this issue focus on organizational success, building relationships, diversity and inclusion in federal government, and more. Thanks for taking the time to read this issue. Stay safe. Marcello Sukhdeo Managing Editor, Canadian Government Executive marcello@promotivemedia.ca EDITOR’S NOTE