Urgent Reforms Needed
Winnipeg, February 5, 2025 – Canada’s public administration is in crisis, warns former MP and Member of the Order of Canada, Dorothy Dobbie, in a groundbreaking new report from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. The report, Restoring Accountability: Fixing Canada’s Public Administration, exposes how political interference, union dominance, and bloated bureaucracy have crippled government efficiency and accountability—putting the country’s governance at risk.
Dobbie warns that Canada’s public service, once a global model of professionalism, has been hijacked by political operatives and rigid union rules that prioritize power over public service. Career bureaucrats have been replaced by political insiders and unqualified appointees, while layers of inefficient management slow decision-making and drive up costs.
“Canadians are paying the price for a dysfunctional system that serves political elites rather than the public,” Dobbie states. “We need to take back our government from the insiders and restore accountability before it’s too late.”
Key Findings of the Report:
- Political Staff Interference – Power is concentrated in unelected political staffers who manipulate decisions, shut out elected representatives, and suppress transparency.
- Union Overreach – Hiring and promotion are dictated by seniority rather than merit, making it nearly impossible to remove underperforming employees.
- Bureaucratic Bloat – Layers of middle management and excessive regulations suffocate efficiency, leading to wasteful spending and mismanagement.
Call to Action: Reform Must Start Now
Dobbie and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy demand immediate action to restore efficiency and accountability in government. The report proposes:
- Ending political patronage – Reduce the unchecked power of political staffers and ensure ministers—not unelected insiders—are accountable.
- Hiring on merit, not quotas – Return to a professional, results-driven public service.
- Slashing bureaucracy – Cut unnecessary management layers and streamline decision-making.
- Reforming union influence – Prioritize performance and accountability over rigid seniority rules.
- Restoring democracy in political parties – The nomination process should be open and competitive rather than controlled by recruiters and selection committees, ensuring that candidates emerge through a democratic process rather than party gatekeeping.
- Reducing dependence on paid campaign specialists – Political parties should rely more on volunteers instead of hiring professional campaigners, whose loyalties lie with their salaries rather than the party’s principles. This would shift focus from fundraising to policy development.
- Decentralizing power from the leader’s office – Party leaders wield excessive control over political appointments and decision-making. Power should be redistributed to ministers, allowing them to hire their own staff and be directly accountable for their portfolios.
- Enhancing ministerial accountability – Political staffers currently hold significant influence, often bypassing elected representatives. Ministers should directly oversee their staff, and civil servants should communicate directly with ministers rather than through intermediaries.
- Preventing political staffers from immediately running for office – To prevent conflicts of interest and undue influence, political staffers should face a waiting period before transitioning into elected roles, similar to restrictions on lobbying.
“Canadians must demand better from their government,” says Dobbie. “We need leaders with the courage to overhaul a broken system and put service to the public ahead of political gamesmanship.”
This is a wake-up call for policymakers, civil servants, and all Canadians. Without bold reforms, government dysfunction will continue to erode trust, drive away talent, and waste billions in taxpayer dollars.
Media Contact: info@fcpp.org
About the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent think tank committed to promoting government accountability, economic growth, and individual freedoms through innovative policy solutions.
