Thank you.
I'm here to talk to you about four things: public funding for science and technology, outsourcing of government services, the strategic expenditure review, and the Expenditure Restraint Act.
There is concern that the federal government is leaving itself without sufficient regulatory tools, expertise, and financial resources to deal with environmental, public health, and national security crises. Delegating responsibility in these areas to lower levels of government or the private sector is counterproductive. As an example, the 2008 listeriosis outbreak could have been prevented by a well-funded and well-staffed CFIA.
Only the federal government possesses the critical mass of scientific expertise necessary to adjust key health, safety, environmental, and security issues at the national level. Moreover, without a modern infrastructure and a well-educated, highly skilled workforce, Canada has little chance of remaining competitive in today's global marketplace. The work of federal scientists and researchers is the foundation on which university and private sector laboratories base their innovative work. All three must be adequately funded for the system to function well. We've heard other presentations here today stating the same thing. Furthermore, a robustly funded federal science program is the perfect catalyst for Canada's economy at this time. The government should also ensure that public science professionals are able to do their research in an independent and non-partisan fashion, with the sole objective of protecting and advancing the public interest.
Secondly, I want to turn to the use of contracts in the federal government. The institute maintains that the federal government needs to put an end to excessive outsourcing and reclaim the work within the federal public service. A realistic appraisal of overall cost demonstrates that in the majority of cases anticipated savings are rapidly erased and taxpayers end up paying much more in the long run. In this respect, the federal government has never produced a profitability analysis supporting its contention that contracting out is less costly than providing services internally. Contracts are renewed without requests for proposals and without adequate needs assessments. Moreover, the initial costs are frequently exceeded by an additional 50%. The government has a duty to be more transparent in managing its contracts.
Contracting out also poses the pernicious problem of the loss of internal expertise. Dangers arise when the government becomes dependent on private sector suppliers and no longer possesses its own internal know-how to verify contractors' work. Contracting out government services means Canadians are losing a valuable repository of knowledge in critical areas. The governments of the United States, Great Britain, and Australia have substantially increased their support for publicly funded science in this respect. In doing so, these governments have recognized that publicly funded research is a key driver of prosperity and economic competitiveness. The Government of Canada cannot afford to do any less. The institute urges the federal government to put any plans for contracting out government services and science on hold.
Third, I want to address the strategic expenditure review. In 2005, the government launched a five-year process of budget cuts for all departments and agencies. The review asked all departments and agencies to cut their overall spending by 5%. The institute denounces the secrecy surrounding the review. It is necessary to examine thoroughly the real impact of this initiative on federal public services and on all Canadians. Our assessment of the review reveals a number of negative consequences for the operations and work environments of the federal public service. For example, in the field of consumer product safety, a lack of sufficient financial resources prevented the government from hiring more inspectors, forcing employees to rely on recalls and do-it-yourself testing kits.
The review has also had serious consequences for the workplace climate. The public service employment survey reveals that almost 60% think the quality of their work has been adversely affected by the growing lack of resources. Employees feel the pressure to do more work with less. Recent budget cuts associated with the review are seriously harming the government's effort to attract and retain the young, highly qualified workers needed to replace an increasing number of retirees. The review has resulted in significant negative impacts on the quality of federal public services, rather than producing significant savings.
Finally, I want to say a few words about the Expenditure Restraint Act and the so-called Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.
The institute contends that the Expenditure Restraint Act and the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act constitute an unwarranted and unnecessary attack on the rights of unions representing federal public service employees. According to a Supreme Court of Canada decision, the process of collective bargaining is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Consequently, legislation that has the effect of substantially interfering with the process of collective bargaining is unconstitutional. In addition, the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act turns the clock back by 20 years in its impact on women’s rights. This proposed legislation will lead to the death of pay equity.
In short, our recommendations are that the federal government should increase independent public funding for federal intramural scientific and regulatory research as a catalyst for innovation; the federal government should rein in its ideologically driven belief that the private sector can provide a better service than its own public service, and undertake a sober value-for-money analysis of the pervasive use of contractors; the strategic expenditure review process should be halted and a full and transparent evaluation of the review should be undertaken to determine its full impact; and lastly, the federal government should repeal the Expenditure Restraint Act and the so-called equitable compensation act.
