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147 CONCLUSION As this book neared completion, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) aired television ads that evocatively illustrated both the promise and realities of the ‘service state’. The commercial aimed to inform citizens on how they could take advantage of tax credits—admittedly a visual challenge to any advertisement producer. The image presented was of women and men literally pulling words from above their heads as they walked down some aimless path. They accumulated them in their arms as the voice-over informed the viewer that the Government of Canada made numerous tax credits available . The message was also that it was up to the citizen to keep informed of the hundreds of possibilities. It was a visually pleasant advertisement that offered an attractive message : citizens were offered a chance to reduce the taxes they owe to the Canadian government. As such, it presented a good example of effective delivery of a key message. The CRA undoubtedly reached hundreds of thousands with this imaginative commercial. By making sure the tax credits were explained on its website, it was fulfilling its mission of making information available. And certainly, by allowing Canadians to file their taxes online (and citizens—or rather their tax preparers—have been record-setting, early adopters of this method), CRA has improved its services. It continually receives good grades for customer care and has done impressive work in improving the quality of its services. According to the Citizens First surveys, its staff is rated as knowledgeable, fair, efficient and courteous—not an easy feat in the tax collecting business. Notwithstanding its successes, CRA is also emblematic of what is wrong about the service state. Now the Real Work Begins… The Service State 148 The CRA certainly did not reach all taxpayers, and it is doubtful that Canadians will fully claim the tax credits they deserve because they will have been unaware or been confused about what exactly a tax credit really is. The ‘service state’ was supposed to bring about a new understanding of service—of finding new ways to reach citizens, of pushing more comprehensive solutions to those looking for them. It was supposed to be about creating new services in a cost-effective manner that could bring in more revenue. It was also about being more responsive to a wider range of citizens in need of services. This vision has not come through and we fear that the state is on the wrong path. Instead of new discoveries, new services and new approaches, the state is merely providing the same services—but faster, cheaper and, in some cases, around the clock. The service state has not lived up to its mission. Instead it has created a self-serve state where citizens are presented with a salad bar of goods and an invitation to help themselves. We are mindful of the fact that many public sector organizations have done stellar work in crafting creative partnerships with private sector companies, non-profit agencies, and each other in providing excellent service, but a whiff of complacency has set in and too many are tempted to sit on their laurels and indulge in self-congratulation. What has gone wrong? We asked six basic questions and found that the service state has avoided finding the answers to critical problems. Instead of seeking to transform services by expanding and integrating them, it has contented itself with muddling through issues, perhaps in the hope that solutions will eventually present themselves. There was urgency to our enquiry. Public services have had a tremendous window of opportunity to experiment with new methods, new understandings and new technologies but have come up wanting. Why is that? Our first question was to ask who the service state is really serving: customers , clients, or citizens? The answer, of course, is that the state serves all, but what is striking is that the real progress in service delivery has been made in serving customers. In turn, this has dominated the thinking of the state, and, we fear, steered it in the wrong direction. This can be explained for a number of reasons. First, it was a relatively easy thing to do. Customers are the citizens that are either required to have contact with the state or simply choose to. In that sense, a customer is someone who needs to get a driver’s licence, or renew one. It can also be a person who wishes, in most provinces, to buy alcohol. In that case, say, a citizen living in...

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