Mr. Speaker, today the auditor general released his report on the state of affairs in our public service. He warns of a crisis in the ability of the government to deliver essential services to Canadians.
He blasted the inability of the Public Service Commission to compete with the private sector in the hiring of the very best personnel. Seventy per cent of senior executives are expected to retire by the year 2008 and there is no plan to replace them.
I quote the auditor general, who states “The short term hiring practice shows a lack of long range planning with little regard for long range needs. There is no analysis of labour markets to assess trends”.
The best and brightest are being courted and recruited by the private sector while the government pays no attention to filling their ranks. I call on the government to follow the advice of the auditor general to end quota hiring practices and start attracting the best recruits before this crisis cripples the ability of the government to competently deliver even basic government services to all Canadians.