Tag: Bilingualism
The never-ending question of contracting in the public service
Over the last few months, we have seen a rising tide of interest in the use of contracted services by the federal government. The latest episode seems to have crystallized around the use of consulting firms, notably McKinsey & Company. It has triggered another round of partisan squabbling at a parliamentary committee and the pack…
The pull and push of the centre that haunts the public service
The federal public sector has been shaped by two easily identifiable democratic forces – the views of the people we elect about the role of the state in society and the economy as well as the federal government’s role within the federation. Federal institutions, direct programs and transfers to other levels of government have waxed…
Leaving the comfort zone: Difficult issues in public sector reform
Much of the commentary on the public sector stays at the level of generalities. Exhortations to become more strategic, more inclusive, bolder in advice and better in delivery are impossible to contest. Too often, the discussion stops short of analyzing resistance or tradeoff among objectives. As in so many things, we are much better at…
Talk of Scottish Independence sparks memories of Canada’s fight for national unity.
It must strike others as odd that Canadians strongly associate the arrival of warm weather with another comforting rite of spring – the culmination of the ice hockey season. Over the next two months the sport’s core audience will be joined by millions of fair-weather fans who only show up for the Stanley Cup and…
The growing friction between bilingualism and other forms of inclusion in Canada
In mid-April Canada’s attention is fully seized by the race to suppress an alarming third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by variants, through vaccination and another tapping of “emergency brake” lockdown measures. It will be a close run thing.