Letter to the Chief Human Resources Officer about the PSES

October 15, 2018

Nancy Chahwan
Chief Human Resources Officer
OCHRO, Treasury Board Secretariat
219 Laurier, Ottawa ON K1P 5J6
By email: nancy.chahwan@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Dear Ms. Chahwan,

I am writing today about the contracting-out to Advanis, a Canadian market and social research firm, of the administration of the 2018 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES). As you know, previous surveys had been administered by Statistics Canada on behalf of your Office.

Because the Institute firmly believes that informed data should be used to effect change, I supported our members’ full participation in the 2018 PSES. That said, I believe that outsourcing the survey to Advanis represents a missed opportunity on the Treasury Board’s part to demonstrate its full commitment to Canada’s professional public service.

I am sure you are aware of the grave concerns repeatedly expressed by public service employees over the continued outsourcing of their work to the private sector. At a time of growing demand for government services, over-reliance on contractors has taken its toll on the professionals who deliver these services to Canadians. Morale, accountability and productivity are all seriously impacted by the contracting-out of work best performed “in-house”. In addition, outsourcing costs the federal government billions of dollars annually, money that would be better invested in improved public services.

I therefore urge your Office to return the administration of future Public Service Employee Surveys to Statistics Canada, a first-rate organization mandated “to provide statistical information and analysis about Canada’s economic and social structure to develop and evaluate public policies and programs (and to) improve public and private decision-making for the benefit of all Canadians”.  Given the Department’s mandate and amply demonstrated expertise in its field, I would be quite interested in understanding the reasoning behind the decision to contract out its work to Advanis.

I look forward to your response and thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President,
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada