Public Service

This book makes a new approach to Canadian politics, from the administrative side. It provides, first, a description of the evolution and structure of the administrative machine which, with few fundamental changes, still serves the Canadian nation, and in the process it attempts to acknowledge and appraise the hitherto unsung contributions of the public servant to the welfare of a pioneer community. A second objective is to disclose the presence in the pioneer public service of certain basic administrative issues which today still rise to perplex both the student and practitioner of public administration. And, finally, this study reveals a neglected aspect of the winning of responsible government in Canada—the author contends that the recognition of the constitutional principle on the political level, did not, in fact, coincide with its practical implementation at the administrative level. As Dr. R. MacGregor Dawson points out in his Foreword, "Few students, on suspects, appreciate how great has been the influence of the permanent officials in the years before Confederation, nor do they have an adequate comprehension of the degree to which administrative decisions of those days, both by Ministers and officials, determined many of the present practices. An astonishingly large number of the problems, moreover, will be found to have remained substantially the same for the past hundred years. The scheme of departmental organization, the delegation of authority and the allotment of responsibility, the application of financial controls, the intricate give and take between the political non-technical Minister and the technically trained specialist—these in some aspect or another have been the constant concern of the administrator: a different time, a different place, has simply shifted the emphasis a little one way or the other." Professor Hodgetts writes with humour and point; his book is a brilliant addition to the Canadian Government Series, in which it is the seventh volume to appear.

The Public Servant's Guide to Government in Canada is a concise primer on the inner workings of government in Canada. This is a go-to resource for students, for early career public servants, and for anyone who wants to know more about how government works. Grounded in experience, the book connects core concepts in political science and public administration to the real-world practice of working in the public service. The authors provide valuable insights into the messy realities of governing and the art of diplomacy, as well as best practices for climbing the career ladder.

This book describes the labour and employment law governing employees of Parliament, employees of government agencies, members of the RCMP, and most direct employees of the government (excluding members of the Canadian armed forces, judges, and employees of Crown corporations).

In this enterprising new text, Ted Glenn equips fledgling public sector communications professionals with the information they need to be successful in their new roles. Leveraging his years of experience in this growing field, Glenn discusses how to present policy goals to different audiences and tailor messages to their needs, write gripping speeches, and use digital media in a world where one ill-phrased tweet can sink a career. Chapters are enriched with activities that walk students through the many responsibilities of public service professionals and encourage them to think strategically in quickly evolving situations. Professional Communications in the Public Sector is indispensable reading for students of public administration, communications, policy studies, media studies, and advertising.

Canada's machinery of government is out of joint. In Breaking the Bargain, Donald J. Savoie reveals how the traditional deal struck between politicians and career officials that underpins the workings of our national political and administrative process is today being challenged. He argues that the role of bureaucracy within the Canadian political machine has never been properly defined, that the relationship between elected and permanent government officials is increasingly problematic, and that the public service cannot function if it is expected to be both independent of, and subordinate to, elected officials. While the public service attempts to define its own political sphere, the House of Commons is also in flux: the prime minister and his close advisors wield ever more power, and cabinet no longer occupies the policy ground to which it is entitled. Ministers, who have traditionally been able to develop their own roles, have increasingly lost their autonomy. Federal departmental structures are crumbling, giving way to a new model that eschews boundaries in favour of sharing policy and program space with outsiders. The implications of this functional shift are profound, having a deep impact on how public policies are struck, how government operates, and, ultimately, the capacity for accountability.

“This timely book is a guide to any would-be whistleblower, any person considering the disclosure of information which exposes wrong doing or harmful behavior. In today’s highly surveilled digital world, knowing the safest and most secure way to reveal wrongdoing is critical. Thoroughly and in detail, Tim Schwartz outlines the pros and cons of different methods of exposure. It is the must-have handbook for concerned employees as well as journalists and lawyers working with whistleblowers.” — Katharine Gun, former British intelligence worker who revealed illegal U.S. wiretapping of the United Nations Security Council prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq “Before reaching out to the media, whistleblowers need to safely and anonymously gather documentation of wrongdoing, and then figure out how to securely discuss it with journalists. In the age of ubiquitous surveillance, where even doing a single Google search could out you as the source, this is no simple or easy feat. The techniques described in this book are vital for anyone who wishes to blow the whistle while reducing their risk of retaliation.” — Micah Lee, director of information security at The Intercept “Despite my 40 years of working with whistleblowers, Tim Schwartz taught me how much I still have to learn about protecting their identities. This easy-to-understand book, packed with practical nuts-and-bolts guidance, is a must-read for anyone who wants to blow the whistle anonymously.” —Tom Devine, legal director, Government Accountability Project "A simple guide to a daunting and vital subject. Schwartz has done outstanding work explaining the ethical, personal, technical and legal considerations in blowing the whistle."—Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing “In today’s digital age with the vast amount of information technology available to target disclosures that those in power would prefer remain hidden, this book provides a practical roadmap when making that often life-altering choice of standing up and exposing abuse and misuse of power across all sectors of society." —Thomas Drake, former National Security Agency senior executive and whistleblower Governments and corporations now have the tools to track and control us as never before. In this whistleblowing how-to, we are provided with tools and techniques to fight back and hold organizations, agencies, and corporations accountable for unethical behavior. Can one person successfully defy a globe-spanning corporation or superpower without being discovered? Can a regular citizen, without computer expertise, release information to the media and be sure her identity will be concealed? At a time we’re told we are powerless and without agency in the face of institutions such as Google, Facebook, the NSA, or the FBI, digital security educator Tim Schwartz steps forward with an emphatic “yes.” And in fewer than 250 pages of easy-to-understand, tautly written prose, he shows us how. A PUBLIC SERVICE can teach any one of us the tricks to securely and anonymously communicate and share information with the media, lawyers, or even the U.S. Congress. This book is an essential weapon in the pervasive battle to confront corruption, sexual harassment, and other ethical and legal violations.

In political theory, the traditional model of state power was that elected officials make policy decisions which are then faithfully executed by a lower cadre of public servants. The complexity of the modern state, however, leaves this model outdated. The vast number of economic and social problems it confronts is such that a great deal of rule-making power is now delegated to a class of civil servants. Yet many political philosophers have not taken this model up, and the field has ignored the important role played by the class of "permanent" state officials--the "deep state" as some call it--in liberal states. In most liberal democracies for example, the central bank is as independent as the supreme court, yet deals with a wide range of economic, social, and political issues. How do these public servants make these policy decisions? What normative principles inform their judgments? In The Machinery of Government, Joseph Heath attempts to answer these questions. He looks to the actual practice of public administration to see how normative questions are addressed. More broadly, he attempts to provide the outlines of a "philosophy of the executive" by taking seriously the claim to political authority of the most neglected of the three branches of the state. Heath both provides a corrective to the prevailing tendency to underestimate the contribution of civil servants to the success of liberal-democratic welfare states, and suggests a more satisfactory account of the principles implicit in public administration.

This widely praised work provides a framework for the many voices calling for the reaffirmation of democratic values, citizenship, and service in the public interest. The expanded edition includes an all-new chapter that addresses the practical issues of applying these ideals in actual, real-life situations. "The New Public Service, Expanded Edition" is organized around a set of seven core principles: serve citizens, not customers; seek the public interest; value citizenship and public service above entrepreneurship; think strategically, act democratically; recognize that accountability isn't simple; serve, rather than steer; and value people, not just productivity. The book asks us to think carefully and critically about what public service is, why it is important, and what values ought to guide what we do and how we do it. It celebrates what is distinctive, important and meaningful about public service and considers how we might better live up to those ideals and values. All students and serious practitioners in public administration and public policy should read this book. While debates about public policy issues will surely continue, this compact, clearly written volume provides an important framework for public service based on and fully integrated with citizen discourse and the public interest.