E-Government in Canada: Transformation for the Digital Age

Chapter 8. Organization and Accountability

Chapter 8 Organization and Accountability The notion of accountability is central to public sector governance, and it is therefore afundamental determinant ofe-government. Much of the resistance to broader institutional changemay beattributed to the imposition of pressures from within the realms of transparency and trust on models of organization and accountability created in a time of limited information flows, relative secrecy, and highly indirect and strictly representational forms of democracy. Yet even the pursuit of reforms tied to service and security has exposed the limitations of tradition and the need for alternative governance mechanisms within the public sector and beyond it. This chapter focuses primarily on the former perspective, situating thefederal flagship initiative, Service Canada, as an important illustration of the needfor more collaboration among both departments and ministers, more visibility and performance responsibilities for public servants, and a more politically nonpartisan set of mechanisms for managing information flows as a public resource and the lifeblood of transforming the Westminster model of ministerial accountability into one more appropriate for a more open, interdependent, and digital era. Section 8.1 summarizes the main forces of resistance to change that are particularly prevalent within thefederal government. Section 8.2 addresses the urgent need to reconceptualize accountability arrangements away from a strict interpretation of Westminster customs in order to adapt managerial and political relationships to an emerging era of more direct and shared forms of public accountability. Section 8.3 considers the ongoing tension between procurement reform and collaborative relationships between industry and government that are at the very crux of e-government's emergence: the importance of transparency and new relational capacities for engagement and execution is offered as the basis of reform. Section 8.4 then extends the realm of the accountability challengeto consider the central role of information, how it is currently managed and contained within the executive branch, and the need for a new strategic and more politically neutral mechanism to oversee the processing and disseminating of this critical public resource. 202 E-GOVERNMENT IN CANADA 8.1 A Recipe for Paralysis For better and for worse, Ottawa and the federal government serve as the focal point of politics and public sector management in Canada. Money plays a large role, of course, as nearly $200 billion in annual spending plans —accompanied with burgeoning budget surpluses —have a way of attracting attention. Even key areas of provincial domain—notably health care—become subsumed in federalprovincial discussions, reflecting if not solely a federal fixation then at least a 'national obsession' with federal-provincial relations. To underscore this point, recent debates about better supporting cities and communities have been largely framed and formed around new federal spending commitments to be allocated on the basis of federalprovincial agreements.1 Along with attempts to overtly expand its authority by directing funds to other levels ofgovernment, the federal apparatus has inwardly expanded as well, with key implications for the relationship between technology and publicadministration. As discussed in Part Two ofthis book, financial spending on a digital infrastructure within the confines of federal authorities in order to support service delivery and security efforts dwarfs anything that is happening provinciallyand locally. For such reasons, present federal plans will do much to shape the future of the public sector as a whole, and these plans are not without some worrisome features. Since its inception, central to the e-government vision federally is the notion of service. As a guiding principle, this emphasis on service essentially involves doing more things and doing them better to please a citizenry viewed largely through the prism of being 'customers' of public service providers. To reinforce this service mentality, communication thus becomes an essential tool to make customers aware ofthe serviceefforts beingmade by public authorities. Theseoneway flows —providing service and communicating this message —are also the means by which ministers may be seen to be delivering on their own specific agenda, thereby deflecting attention away from scandals and crises that may or may not be rooted in their own action or organizational domain. Thus, serviceand communicationbecomemeans toboth preserving and deploying power. In a political context shaped by scandal and ORGANIZATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY 203 adversarial exchange (the two feeding off one another particularly well within Westminster institutions), what often results is a form of 'political spin' that greatly reduces the legitimacy ofthe message being conveyed by governing authorities. The harder a government tries to portray itself as doing more to serve citizens...