Ottawa's top HR official aims to reduce excess senior executives in public service: memo
OTTAWA — After 10 years of constant growth, the federal government now says there are too many senior executives in the public service, slowing productivity and creating workplace conflicts.
Article content
In an internal memo Wednesday obtained by National Post, the federal Chief Human Resources Officer Jacqueline Bogden is clear: there are more assistant deputy ministers (421) in the bureaucracy than permanent positions at that level (355).
Article content
Article content
Article content
Now, the top human resources official says her office will be cracking down on the overage, an exceptional move after years of substantial growth of the federal public service.
Article content
Article content
Bogden said just the assistant deputy minister (ADM) — the second highest ranking position in most departments — cadre ballooned by 50 per cent (or 140) since 2015.
Article content
'There is a need to take additional proactive measures to address the ADM overage situation and contain future growth of the ADM cadre,' Bogden wrote.
Article content
An ADM's salary can range from $197,774 to $260,719 depending on their years of experience as well as their pay classification, according to the government's website.
Article content
Bogden's memo says her office is implementing two new measures until the end of the year to address the overage.
Article content
The first aims to reduce the number of ADMs by reviewing existing positions, particularly 'higher risk' situations where the senior executive is on a temporary assignment with no subsequent permanent position.
Article content
Article content
The memo does not say if those positions will be demoted, eliminated or transformed into permanent positions to reduce the 'overage.'
Article content
Article content
The second aims to 'contain' the growth of the ADM cadre by requiring all departments to get permission from her office before promoting a new person to the position.
Article content
The internal announcement comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is asking most departments and agencies to find spending cuts worth 15 per cent by 2029.
Article content
It also comes after years of tremendous growth of the public service under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020. Over his tenure, the public service grew by over 100,000, from 257,000 in 2015 to 358,000 this year, according to government data.
Article content
Though Bogden's memo focuses on the ADM cadre, it also included a recent report by the Public Service Management Advisory Committee warning that there are too many executives overall in the public service.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ousted FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad is returning to the agency
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Food and Drug Administration official is getting his job back as the agency's top vaccine regulator, less than two weeks after he was pressured to step down at the urging of biotech executives, patient groups and conservative allies of President Donald Trump. Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the FDA center that regulates vaccines and biotech therapies, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Monday. Prasad left the agency late last month after drawing ire of right-wing activists, including Laura Loomer, because of his past statements criticizing Trump. A longtime a critic of FDA's standards for approving medicines, Prasad briefly ordered the maker of a gene therapy for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy to halt shipments after two patient deaths. But that action triggered pushback from the families of boys with the fatal condition and libertarian supporters of increased access to experimental medicines. Prasad's decision to pause the therapy was criticized by The Wall Street Journal editorial board, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and others. The FDA swiftly reversed its decision suspending the therapy's use. Loomer posted online that Prasad was 'a progressive leftist saboteur,' noting his history of praising liberal independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. But Prasad has had the backing of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have both called for scrutinizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines. Under Prasad, the FDA restricted the approval of two new COVID-19 shots from vaccine makers Novavax and Moderna and set stricter testing requirements for future approvals. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Ottawa Citizen
11 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Soo Greyhounds will not bid on 2027 Memorial Cup
Article content The Soo Greyhounds decided the third time was, in fact, not the charm. Article content After unsuccessful bids in 2021 and 2024, the team announced Monday morning that it will not bid to host the 2027 Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League's marquee tournament. The event is slated to be hosted by an OHL team, as part of the CHL's regular rotation with the WHL and QMJHL. Article content 'This decision was made following a review of the factors necessary to stage an event of this magnitude, including the resources required, the current state of the local economy in an environment of tariff uncertainty, and the competitive landscape among other potential communities looking to host this event,' reads a statement from team president Tim Lukenda. Article content The Greyhounds previously bid for the 2021 and 2024 tournaments. The first was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the second went to the Saginaw Spirit, who hosted in 2024. Article content Article content Hosting the Memorial Cup requires a significant financial commitment. City council previously approved $300,000 in funding to support the 2024 bid, drawn from the Community Development Fund–Economic Development Stream, designed to spur local economic activity. A similar investment would've been needed to support a 2027 proposal. Article content Competition for the event will also be steep. The Kitchener Rangers, Niagara IceDogs, and Guelph Storm have all expressed interest. Kitchener in particular is seen as a frontrunner, boasting a larger, 7,200-seat arena and more hotel capacity in the surrounding region. The Rangers last hosted in 2008, drawing more than 53,000 fans and generating a $1.95 million profit — the most lucrative Memorial Cup in CHL history. Article content Article content Guelph hosted its only Memorial Cup in 2002, while the IceDogs have never held the tournament at the decade-old Meridian Centre in St. Catharines. Article content 'Competing to host the Memorial Cup would require significant financial and logistical commitments, and our responsibility is to ensure that any bid we submit is both achievable and competitive against larger markets that may currently have greater capability and capacity to meet the event's extensive requirements,' Lukenda's statement reads. Article content The Hounds have hosted the tournament once, in 1993, when they captured their lone CHL championship at the old Sault Memorial Gardens. Before its 2021 cancellation, the tournament was set to be held either in the Sault or Oshawa.
Global News
14 hours ago
- Global News
U.S. pause on higher tariffs for China set to expire. What to know
A 90-day pause on imposing higher tariffs on China is due to expire on Tuesday and it is unclear if it will be extended. After the most recent round of China-U.S. trade talks, held late last month in Stockholm, Chinese and U.S. officials said they expected the deadline to be extended for another 90 days. The U.S. side said the decision was up to President Donald Trump. So far there has been no formal announcement about whether he will endorse an extension or push ahead with the higher tariffs. The uncertainty has left businesses in limbo and a decision to raise the import duties could jolt world markets. Silence from Washington and Beijing Trump has repeatedly shifted deadlines and tariff rates, and neither side has indicated what it plans for Tuesday. Extending the Aug. 12 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China would forestall earlier threats of tariffs of up to 245 per cent. Story continues below advertisement Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump was deciding about another 90-day delay to allow time to work out details of an agreement setting tariffs on most products at 50 per cent, including extra import duties related to illicit trade in the powerful opiate fentanyl. Higher tariffs are aimed at offsetting the huge, chronic U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a 21-year low in July as the threat of tariffs bit into Chinese exports. 1:55 China won 1st round of trade war with U.S., analysts say It's not unusual for the U.S. to give hints on where talks stand, but it's rare for China to make announcements until major decisions are set. So far, Beijing's refrained from commenting ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In an interview with Fox News taped on Thursday but aired on Sunday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was considering additional tariffs on Beijing because of China's purchases of Russian oil. But he said Trump 'hasn't made any firm decisions.' Story continues below advertisement China resisted cutting early bargain Prohibitively high tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States would put huge pressure on Beijing at a time when the Chinese economy, the world's second largest, is still recovering from a prolonged downturn in its property market. Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have left millions of people reliant on 'gig work,' crimping the job market. Higher import taxes on small parcels from China have also hurt smaller factories and layoffs have accelerated, But the U.S. relies heavily on imports from China for all sorts of products, from household goods and clothing to wind turbines, basic computer chips, electric vehicle batteries and the rare earths needed to make them. That gives Beijing some powerful leverage in the negotiations with Washington. Even with higher tariffs, China remains competitive for many products. And its leaders are aware that the U.S. economy is only just beginning to feel the effects of higher prices from Trump's broad tariff hikes. Story continues below advertisement For now, imports from China are subject to a 10% baseline tariff and a 20 per cent extra tariff related to the fentanyl issue. Some products are taxed at higher rates. U.S. exports to China are subject to tariffs of around 30 per cent. Before the two sides called a truce, Trump had threatened to impose 245% import duties on Chinese goods. China retaliated by saying it would hike its tariff on U.S. products to 125%. What's at stake? A trade war between the world's two largest economies has ramifications across the global economy, affecting industrial supply chains, demand for commodities like copper and oil and geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine. After a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in June, Trump said he hoped to meet with Xi later this year. That's an incentive for striking a deal with Beijing. Story continues below advertisement If the two sides fail to keep their truce, trade tensions could escalate and tariffs might rise to even higher levels, inflicting still more pain on both economies and rattling world markets. Businesses would refrain from making investment commitments and hiring, while inflation would surge higher. Companies are in an 'extended wait-and-see mode,' Oxford Economics said in a recent report.
