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Edmonton Journal

Ottawa's top HR official aims to reduce excess senior executives in public service: memo

Article content 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.