Modernizing Justice Systems, The Emergencies Act, and The CGE Leadership Series
Canadian Government Executive
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A Note From the Deputy Editor
Welcome to your CGE newsletter!
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strike is now into its second week. Both PSAC leadership and the federal government have engaged the public to explain their side of things and their perspectives on where negotiations stand. PSAC President Chris Aylward has accused the federal government of “dragging out negotiations”, and suggested that PSAC would be “escalating” picket activity to dial up the pressure on the government to reach an agreement. Treasury Board President Mona Fortier responded with a claim that PSAC had cancelled meetings and a suggestion that games were being played. The key issues to be settled are wage increases and the union’s ask that language around remote work be included in the collective agreement. Both sides express frustration at the pace of talks.
For more information:
The New Imperative to Modernize Justice Systems
Governments have long been working to transform justice systems by implementing procedural reforms and integrating new technology —with the goal of improving efficiency, quality, and independence. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these plans while also underscoring the need for greater progress, especially to better meet the needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups in society. Now, in this next wave of reform, justice systems need to become more citizen-centric, ensuring access for all in a rapidly evolving world of pervasive inequality and declining trust in institutions. Leaders must apply the lessons learned during the pandemic to set a new baseline expectation and build momentum. Reverting to traditional ways of working is not an option.
The Emergencies Act
On a frigid Friday afternoon, Justice Paul Rouleau released his report into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February of last year. The legislation was passed in 1988 but this was the first time that it was ever put into action. The federal government invoked the legislation after the “Freedom Convoy” had occupied the capital city for weeks, disrupting commerce, traffic, and the daily life and safety of Ottawa citizens. There were also parallel activities in other cities across the country, including in Coutts, Alberta where, as the report explains, the situation “was notable for its duration, complexity, and volatility.” Justice Rouleau found that the federal government met the threshold for the legitimate use of the Emergencies Act. Politically, this is helpful for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (more on this later) and, from a governance perspective, the Commission’s work fulfills the legislative requirement for transparency and accountability when emergency measures are taken. However, the true heft and significance of the report is in the light it sheds on the following issues: the factors that led to the occupation in the first place, including the rise of populism in Canada; the breakdown of communication between governments during an emergency; and, the difficulties in coordinating policing operations during the occupation. This report should not collect dust on a shelf but, instead, should guide discussions and decisions on how to prevent a repeat of history and, if necessary, how to respond to an emergency like this one.
Latest Podcasts
CGE Weekly – episode 11
The CGE Leadership Series
Host, J. Richard Jones and CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull, once again weigh in on the hot topics of the week concerning Canadian government and the public sector. Plus, get a sneak peek inside the upcoming CGE Leadership Series and the Knowing Canadians series with Environics Analytics and the data they have gathered on attitudes that Canadians hold around policy and values issues, behaviours, pocket book issues, affordability and more.
Also in this episode:
From Cloud First to Cloud Smart
Join host J. Richard Jones for the latest episode of CGE Radio. He speaks with Craig McLellan, Chief Executive Officer of ThinkOn, about foreign cloud providers and the benefits of a Canadian-based solution. Mr. McLellan is a forward-thinking business leader who has been at the forefront of technology innovation and data security in Canada and the U.S. for the past twenty-five years. Think On, Inc. is a proudly Canadian-owned and operated cloud solution provider (CSP) with a global data centre footprint. ThinkOn is a Canadian VMware Sovereign Cloud partner and the only Canadian supplier with the contractual capability to sell cloud-based data management services to support both Federal Government Sensitive (PBMM) workloads as well as workloads from all levels of municipal, federal, and Indigenous government public sector entities in Canada.
In this episode:
领英推荐
https://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/from-cloud-first-to-cloud-smart/?inf_contact_key=ea5353f38b8f15d85e020e10dd48c8231b0a3f0fd3ee5d9b43fb34c6613498d7
DXC Technology’s Role in Data and Analytics in Public Sector
Welcome back to another episode of CGE Radio with host, J. Richard Jones. This week we talk to Kristen Leroux, General Manager, Public Sector, Canada, DXC Technology and Srijani Dey is Chief Data and Analytics Officer, DXC Technology. DXC is a Fortune 500 company and represented in the S&P 500 Index with a long and trusted reputation built on delivering world class IT solutions to multiple levels of government. Kristen brings a dedicated Public Sector focus to her role. She is a client focused, strategic visionary and an analytical decision maker whose insights into modernizing the Canadian Public Sector set her apart in the field. Srijani leads business transformation initiatives, delivers strategic technology roadmaps, and heads a Center of Excellence for analytics workload migration to accelerate customers’ modernization journeys.
Tune in for an insightful discussion about data analytics, public sector experiences, AccelerateGOV, and an overview of who DXC is and what they can do.
Also in this episode:
https://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/dxc-technologys-role-in-data-and-analytics-in-public-sector/?inf_contact_key=9e7734b1a12a7367023d6effb7e2daec09c74070ac2bf3cfa7869e3cfd4ff832
Upcoming Event
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SERIES:
Government Contracting and the Role of Public Sector
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates has been studying the outsourcing of government contracts to private consulting firms. A study by Carleton University has revealed that the federal government spent at least $22 billion on outsourcing in 2021-22. McKinsey and Company got a lot of the attention, as federal government contracts with this company have grown since the Liberals formed government in 2015, but many consulting companies are in a similar situation. We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Amanda Clarke, associate professor at Carleton University and expert on government contracts, and Mr. Michael Wernick, former Clerk of the Privy Council, to speak to this very important issue and the implications for the role of the public service.
DATE: May 2, 2023
TIME: 1:00 – 5:00 pm (EST)
From the Web
Canada’s military needs a fix for persistent procurement delays: official
The Defence Department’s top procurement official wants defence companies to put more focus on delivering what they have promised and less on trying to win the next contract.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9636077/defence-department-military-procurement-delays-canada/?inf_contact_key=ae301d9d6c4ab241ff02cd193693a2554dfbc39d7283b2cb89d5189540b69330
Inside the Latest Issue
https://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/magazine-vol-28-issue-1/?inf_contact_key=1aaa3357f82cafabf1c7870ae695f8ed7e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09