Aspects of the Accountability Act have changed how the government functions in some very fundamental ways. In particular, I would suggest that the accounting officer regime and reminding deputy ministers of their role in the management of their organizations has had the desired impact on the system in improving and heightening the management capacity of deputies and departments. It's difficult because one doesn't necessarily want to bring a lot of value judgments into these types of scenarios. I think the Accountability Act brought more transparency, more oversight mechanisms, and has clarified the roles of deputy ministers around the management of their organizations. One can debate whether all of these have contributed significantly to the better management of the Government of Canada or not.
On November 17th, 2009. See this statement in context.