I guess the question leads us to the next point, and that's if there is a concern on your part about the pressures on the entire system from increases of this magnitude, at 4.1%, which obviously is not huge but does put pressures on the system in terms of training, and even in terms of the payroll for personnel from top to bottom, and on the mechanics of government as you consider replacing existing people who are leaving, for whatever reason, in escalating numbers.
I guess you do, in large part, have a plan as to how you are going to address this, but I guess this leads to the bigger issue, which is that we have people today in jobs that they didn't have last year and the year before, when we had turnover of similar rates.
My concern continues to be about this continued movement. I know that you state in the report that significantly high mobility can have negative impacts on operational efficiency and effectiveness. I would suggest that it has destructive effects on many of these different departments, especially when we see the large movements. I am thinking specifically of the HR departments.
I know that we are all in this together and that we're working toward a solution, but is there anything that we on the legislative side can do to be of some assistance to you, as you look to address the high turnover rates and the high numbers of people who are moving from one position to another within government? I am not sure how we can work to address some of these things, but I have anecdotal evidence, even from my own constituency, where people are increasingly frustrated when they call a department and are dealing with one individual, and then the next time they call they're dealing with somebody else, and the next time it's somebody else. I know even from my own member of Parliament office that this seems to be a recurring frustration. I am just thinking that if this is something we're experiencing and hearing about from others, then when we see these numbers we know it's government-wide.
We have a real problem on our hands. We have a civil service that is doing its best to try to address the needs of Canadians, but on the flip side, it is a pretty unfortunate environment in which civil servants are trying to do this, a situation where the corporate memory is just being wiped out time and time again.
I don't know what we can do. I know there are suggestions, but I'm not sure if there are some suggestions you have as to where we as a committee might go to assist you, or if you feel that in time we'll get a handle on it. I know that you have been working aggressively on this front, but I'm not sure if there's anything that we might be able to do to assist you in your efforts.