THE NORTH Shore News
regularly publishes letters
from aggrieved citizens and
features articles referring to
the iniquities of government,
but the underlying cause of
those concerns is never men-
ticned, which is that it takes
four workers in (he private
sector to support one public
Servant.

By Kenneth Block

Contributing Writer

Whi wry tor federal.
provincial and municipal govern-
ments to have adequate staff to per-
form all the ta located by our
legislators it is increasingly obvious
that the constant growth in the num-
ber of personnel so employed has
reached crisis proportions.

According to the 1994 Canada
Year Book (CYB) approximately
10.2 million of our citizens were
employed full-time in 1992; another
two million were employed part-
time.

Included are 1.4 million self-
employed.

Together they accounted for, in
salaries and wages, about half the
Gross Domestic Product of $338
billion.

However, the CYB states that in
1991 almost 2.7 million of these
peopte, or 24%, were in the public
sector and received 27% of the total
salaries and wages shown in the
GDP for a total of $92.7 billion.

Contrary to popular belief the
federal government in 1990 only
employed 578,000 people costing
$22 billion. The provinces

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employed Lot million ata cost of
$37 billion. The municipalities
employed 997,000 using ap 34 bil
Hon tax dollars.

Public servants receive 3% more

salaries overall (had those ia the pri-

seetor and are alsa beneficiaries
of better health plans, pension plans,
vacation time, security of employ -
ment and office accommodation
which probibly accounts for another
billion dollars.

In the private sector, where prof
itability is the yardstick, there is a
continual quest for cost effective
production and administration to
ensure that all personnel are used to
the best of their ability.

H profits dcop then there is less
income to pay for those who are no
longer necessary and would be a
burden on those retained, Thus there
is a constant mechanism of checks
and balances to ensure efficiency.

When the numbers
were smaller and more ei
stood, elected officials could exe
cise some degree of supervision
over their public servants.

The problem with the public see-
tor is that there is no yardstick by
which the public can evaluate and
judge if a system, or group of
tems, within a department is using
its personnel efficiently and us
ly

We have to rely on the top offi-
cials and mandarins to enforce effi-
ciency, but how can we expect an
accurate accounting when even the
federal auditor general has difficulty
in getting answers?

And where is his equivalent in
provincial and municipal govern

ments which employ 78 af the
CVI servants ata colossal casi of
over $70 billion annual

Tone reduces the f2 million at
the private seetor to those who ice
actually engaged im creauiny Chat
wealth from whieh all eise is
derived itis net hard te understand
why the debts of all levels of gos -
ermment are continually inergasing
and why iC is rece
raise hives of ait Kinds.

This as esicerdiited wher itis
realized that most of the bureaucrats
are intelligent and well-trained in
their disciplines.

How much better off would
Canada be ifa larger portion were
using theic skis in the private se
tor to create more wealth,

Again the more governments
interfere with the private sector the
more help is needed by individuals
and companies from independent

nsullants, hawyers, aecountants
who add to the cost of creating
wealth.

The vast majority of civil ser-

sare honest and must some-
times chate at being forced to work
at non-productive, duplicating tasks
in an inefficient environment and
observing others, both superior and
subordinate. forced to do the same
because a particular procedure has
been laid down by someone who is
probably no longer there.

It would take a most unusual
civil servant to tell his supervisor
that his workload was insufficient to
fill his daily hours or that it was
unimportant or not needed and it is
equally unlikely that his supervisor
would admit it to his superior.

y to constinily

This problem permeates all t
cls of bureaucracy beeause the
salary of wach andividuat is largely
predicated pot on the inipo of
the work but on the mimber of indi
viduals for which one ts responsible.
The bigger the empire the Birger the
salary.

Nherefore no one will be thanked
for suggesting: that a section or
department be discarded or operated
with tess bodies,

There bave been isolated
instances When some courageous oF
misguided individual lis had the
lemerity to reverse this mind-set and
gone public with criticisms and been
labeled “whistle-blower” resulting
in distninsal ar promotion denied,

What mechanism is it possible to
introduce to notonty halt the expan-
sion of bureau but also Jaunch
a process that would resalt in its
becoming leaner?

Tu rely on internal discipline has
been seen to be fruitless. Even pro-
fessional associations, which are

sibly self-governing, rua into
trouble when their secret decisions
against an offending member
become the subject of headlines.

Again, how can we rely on elect-
ed representatives to check upon
civil servants’ efficiency when they
will meet the combined front of
sinecured senior civil servants who
are willing to stonewall such inter-
ference until the next election when
the troublemaker will likely be
thrown out of office or is in the
opposition without any clout any-
way?

Kenneth Block lives in West
Vancouver.

LET’S GET AGUAINTED
compiete
9% fecory

service
INCLUDES OIL, LUBE, FILTER