When a government-related issue becomes controversial — the proposed new sewage plant, the ethnic-outreach scandal and the contaminated-soil problem spring to mind — a frequent response is to blame the bureaucrats, so much so that “bureaucrat” has become a label of scorn.
A simple definition of bureaucracy is government by central administration, and a bureaucrat is an official in that administration. It’s a reminder that without civil servants, our society would be crippled.
Public service is a high calling, but when a bureaucrat goes rogue, as sometimes happens, the image of many is tarnished by the actions of a few. Incidents such as improper behaviour, outrageous expense accounts or accepting bribes grab the attention, and many people toiling diligently and efficiently in government offices get unfairly branded.
The image of the civil service as a place of cushy, lifetime jobs is not entirely without foundation. In the past, Canadian politicians, as in other countries, doled out public jobs to their relatives and cronies, and the civil service became packed with people who were there because of whom they knew, not what they knew.
But most hiring of public servants is now done according to stringent rules, where the emphasis is on finding those best qualified. Perfect results can’t be guaranteed, but it’s a process that generally serves the public well.
Premiers and prime ministers can bypass that process as they appoint chiefs of staff, deputy ministers and other aides from among those who, say, managed their campaigns or worked with them in other capacities. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, the fallout is unpleasant — just ask Premier Christy Clark, who has lost a couple of her staff to improprieties.
While being a civil servant might have been Easy Street in the past, the work of today’s bureaucrats can be difficult and stressful. The elected politicians make the laws and regulations, and bureaucrats implement and administer those regulations. It’s their job to ensure services are delivered. They are supposed to have the expertise and the skills, but when that expertise is overriden by political considerations, headaches ensue and fingers are pointed at the bureaucrats.
As employees of the public, bureaucrats are at the whim of the public by way of the political process. When elections bring a change of government, policies and priorities can change, and that means work and stress for civil servants.
When the government of Gordon Campbell decided to combine provincial and national sales taxes into the harmonized sales tax, a team of Finance Ministry experts went to work sorting out how the new tax would work. Their work was for naught — when the public rejected the HST in the 2011 referendum, the team of analysts, accountants and lawyers dug in again to resurrect the PST. It meant 80-hour weeks with no overtime pay, no time off for family events and holidays until the job was done. There were undoubtedly moments when chicken-farming and apple-growing looked like good career alternatives.
When the public puts the pressure on politicians to limit government expenditures, it’s the bureaucrats who have to find places to cut. And when the public complains about reduced services, it’s the people at the front counter who have to take the flak.
We do not advocate relaxing for a moment scrutiny of public payrolls — civil service has a way of mushrooming if not checked. We need to strive constantly for affordable government.
But we shouldn’t forget that it’s bureaucrats and other public servants who ensure we have medical services, transit, streets, sewers, water and protective services.
We would be in a sorry state without bureaucrats.
