Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for York Centre.
It is a privilege for me to take part in this debate on the Speech from the Throne. The vision laid out in that speech is based on values and principles that are deeply rooted in the spirit of the people of Canada. This means the sharing of risks and benefits, equality of all citizens, tolerance and a celebration of our differences.
It is a vision which builds on our past successes. Those successes have not been based solely on economic growth and financial prudence, but also on our ability to listen to Canadians and to set as our priorities the issues they deem important.
The commitments made in the throne speech reflect these priorities: a comprehensive plan for health care reform; a strong economy; a healthy environment; and the well-being of children and families.
One of the things which makes Canada strong is our linguistic duality. As a staunch defender of official bilingualism, I anxiously await the implementation of a renewed action plan to revitalize our official languages policy.
Promoting and reinforcing the bilingual nature of the public service constitutes an important part of this plan of action. Canada's public service is, and always will be, a bilingual institution and there can be absolutely no room for compromise on this.
I am particularly pleased to learn that a recent study on public servants' attitudes towards official languages indicates that the vast majority of them support the official languages program, and feel that it is important to serve the public in the language of choice and that bilingualism in the workplace must be encouraged.
That said, it is certain that there must be more active promotion of the use of both official languages in federal government workplaces. This must be a dominant characteristic of our daily activities and our policies must be better understood. More will be said on this in the coming months.
I want to turn to the subject of human resources management in the public service. As the final commitment in the Speech from the Throne, the government will “introduce long-awaited reforms for the public service to ensure that it can attract the diverse talent it needs to continue to serve Canadians well”.
For me, it is fitting that this should serve as a conclusion to this important speech. It is fitting because the public service underpins all that we do in government. Whether in advising ministers on policy, supporting parliamentarians, delivering services to citizens across Canada or abroad, or in enforcing the law, we rely on the dedicated men and women who are the Public Service of Canada.
The public service is one of the country's greatest assets. As a parliamentarian, I consider that a vital characteristic of our democracy is the positive energy and results that are produced when those elected to serve Canadians are supported by an impartial, non-partisan, professional, representative and bilingual public service. While it is true that we set the agenda, we must all recognize that our public servants make it happen.
It is because of this that there is a clear political determination to make the changes required to ensure that our public service is prepared to take on the challenges of the 21st century. We realize that if we are to meet Canadians' legitimate needs, we must rely on an effective and competent public service.
My perspective has always been that it is people who count, regardless of the organization, be it in the public or private sector. Given that it is the role of all governments to provide their citizens with the high quality services that we all need, human resources are even more important in the public sector. Our employees give the government a human face.
The current employee management system is outdated and lags behind current management theories. Some of our rules and regulations were enacted 30 and 40 years ago and have been changed very little since that time, despite the profound changes that have taken place in our public service and in our country.
The demographic reality is that approximately half of our current public servants, and a much greater proportion of our senior managers, will be retiring in the next ten years. At the same time, competition to attract more talented people is intensifying. Therefore, one of our priorities is to retain competent employees and to recruit new ones. The public service must be able to retain, attract and train highly motivated women and men.
We must also ensure that there are appropriate mechanisms in place to train our future leaders and to ensure an efficient transfer of organizational knowledge. This is why we must renew our legal and administrative framework for the management of human resources, which is quite rigid in many respects.
We must encourage innovation, which means putting in place more flexible policies and procedures. We must provide employees and managers with the appropriate tools so that they never have the feeling that they have to battle the system in order to do good work.
We need to create an exemplary workplace. In my view, an exemplary workplace is a place that embraces diversity, where employees are proud to belong, where they can work in the official language of their choice in bilingual regions, and where they receive fair compensation for their work. It is a place where managers encourage employees to take advantage of a range of possible working conditions so that they can better balance professional and family responsibilities. It is a workplace that promotes learning and professional development for all employees regardless of level.
Of course such a workplace should also be a place of harmonious labour relations, where a real spirit of cooperation, not confrontation, leads to frank and constructive exchanges and problem solving between the employer and union representatives.
In an exemplary workplace, systems, practices and regulations are aligned with getting results. Right now many of our human resources management practices are just plain inadequate for today's challenges. Anyone who has tried to recruit or transfer an employee in the public service knows that the process is lengthy and tedious. I have received much correspondence and I have had numerous conversations with members on both sides of the House about the difficulties some of their constituents have encountered with the current human resources system. These exchanges have been very helpful to me because they illustrate the practical difficulties Canadians face when applying for a public service job.
Change is needed, and it will occur. However, changing the system does not mean changing our fundamental values. On the contrary. Any new human resources management framework must remain based on values of integrity, equity, respect, accountability, transparency, skills and merit.
The reform must be based on sound ethical principles. We are stressing these principles because they provide a democratic government with what it needs to operate in the best manner possible and because, this way, the public will trust Canada's public institutions.
For all these reasons, I will soon introduce in the House of Commons legislative changes that will address these matters. Each and every one of us has a duty to participate in this initiative. The reform of the public service human resources management system is a priority of our government, as it should be for all the members of this House as well.
We are not undertaking this initiative because we feel there is something wrong with the Public Service of Canada. The government I represent believes, as I do—and I hope our colleagues opposite do as well—that our public sector is one of the very best in the world. We just want to ensure that this sector will be able to grow and adjust in order to meet the challenges of our ever-changing economy and society.
I am confident that, with the support and involvement of everyone in the public service, from senior management to employees, our union partners and our parliamentarians, this initiative will lay a strong foundation, so that we can continue serving Canadians well.
I believe we are headed in the right direction. For change to happen, we need to focus on our goals and we need to bear in mind that changes must be possible and practical. Ultimately we will all benefit from modernization.
I applaud the Prime Minister for concluding his reply to the Speech from the Throne by saying:
When I travel across Canada I will talk to a new generation about the importance of public life. I will discuss with them the role of public service, how they can participate and lead in the future.
I urge all members of the House to follow his lead and to discuss with our young graduates the Public Service of Canada.
