Honourable senators, I give notice that, two days hence:

I will call the attention of the Senate to (a)The importance of the federal government as Canada’s largest single employer, with over 200,000 civilian employees;

(b)The fact that, although everyone understands that a significant portion of federal employees would be based in the nation’s capital, in recent years a trend has developed whereby the distribution of jobs between Ottawa and the regions has become more and more disproportionate in favour of the National Capital Region;

(c)Historically, approximately one-third of federal government jobs were based in the National Capital Region. However, in recent years — under successive governments — that number has grown to almost 46% in the Ottawa region last year;

(d)This is illustrated by the fact that in the period 2008-2018, the federal public service experienced a net gain of 11,470 jobs. Of that number, the vast majority were in the National Capital Region, at the expense of the regions of Canada;

(e)The impact of this concentration is twofold. Firstly, in many ways federal public servants are the “face” of government to Canadians. A more equal dispersal of these employees across Canada would serve to make the federal government more visible. Decentralization brings government closer to the people it serves;

(f)But the more tangible and obvious benefit to regions by employment decentralization is economic. Just as the public has a right to expect ready access to those who provide public services, the various provinces and regions of Canada value the well-paid stable workforce that the federal public service represents. Such a workforce, largely immune to the boom and bust cycle of other industries, can provide a foundation upon which a healthy regional economy can build, as indeed, has been the case with the National Capital Region;

(g)The example of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is proof of the beneficial impact of decentralization of government. VAC is the only department whose national headquarters is located outside the Ottawa region. The decision to move VAC to Charlottetown had a profound and lasting effect on PEI both economically and socially;

(h)The 1,230 VAC employees who currently work in Prince Edward Island, represents a steady payroll of some $90 million dollars, spent on cars, homes and the various goods and services associated with everyday life, a significant contribution to the Island economy;

(i)There is obviously more to a healthy economy than federal government jobs. Meaningful economic development can only come from a balanced economy that respects and welcomes the role of a robust private sector which invests the time and money necessary to create the jobs that will keep Canadians at home building their future. That having been said, a balanced economy also means there is an important role for Canada’s largest single employer, the federal government, to play;

(j)There is also the positive social benefit to having government jobs distributed across Canada. In the case of Prince Edward Island, this can be seen in the remarkable growth in the use of the French language. According to Statistics Canada, after Quebec and New Brunswick, Prince Edward Islanders are third, among the provinces in their knowledge of both languages. There is no doubt that the historical presence and strength of the Island Acadian community assisted in that regard, but, the greatest single contribution to the growth of the French language in Prince Edward Island over the last forty years is the presence of Veterans Affairs;

(k)Resistance to moving jobs across Canada is best illustrated by the absence of the deputy minister of Veterans Affairs Canada from working full time in the National Headquarters in Charlottetown. The fact that the current holder of that office is the only deputy minister who, unlike many former VAC deputy ministers, does not live and work in the same province as that department’s national headquarters causes a daily leadership vacuum in a department that has seen 23 ministers in 30 years; and

(l)Therefore, the Senate Chamber should examine and discuss the opportunities for decentralizing federal government jobs and services, and to urge the Government of Canada to restore the historical distribution of employment to one-third of jobs in the National Capital Region and two-thirds in the rest of the country, thereby contributing to the economic growth and stability of the regions of Canada.