That's a very interesting question.
My office and I have observed a significant increase in the number of public servants over the past few years. Since about 2016, the number of public servants has gone up dramatically, and payroll spending has gone up proportionally in part because there are more employees and in part because compensation is higher.
What we haven't seen is significant service improvements. We have observed some recent improvements, but departmental performance indicators are not all rosy. We did a study a year ago on Indigenous Services Canada's performance indicators, and about half of the indicators were not met. Departments set these targets themselves, so it's very concerning that they can't even achieve half of them. In addition, there were high-profile issues that surfaced in the summer of 2022: border services, passports and delays in other services.
So, yes, that worries me a lot.