Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Recommendation 3-4: The government should not rely unduly on hiring freezes and attrition
to reduce the size of the civil service as a result of any spending restraint. Such approaches
typically weaken the quality of the civil service for years — even decades — to come.
Lower-priority and less efficient programs and services must be targeted for reduction; the
result will be fewer employees working in these areas. More generally, the focus must be on
retaining good employees while letting go of those who are not performing well. All employee
appraisal and bonus schemes must be aligned to these objectives; for example, the
government should continue to offer performance bonuses to those who exceed
job requirements.
Recommendation 3-5: Do not hang onto public assets or public service delivery when better
options exist. Consider privatizing assets and moving to the private delivery of services
wherever feasible. We suggest pursuing this course only where the public can get better
value for money spent without compromising access to services, not for ideological reasons.
In budget planning, do not count chickens before they are hatched. If assets are to be sold,
never incorporate any revenue from such planned sales into a budget before the fact; there is
always uncertainty over the timing, accounting treatment and ultimate market value of any
sale. Instead, simply record any sale in the appropriate manner if and when it is completed.
Recommendation 3-6: The length of time it will take to return to balance in a sustainable
fashion significantly changes the nature of the approach. Traditional “short-term fixes” will not
be adequate or even, in many cases, appropriate. Examples include asset sales solely for the
purpose of a one-time cash injection; freezes to wages or managers’ bonuses; and deferrals of
capital investments and other necessary spending. Kicking the can down the road is no
solution. Spending restraint must be thoroughly and consistently tied to permanent reforms in
how government operates so the results of the restraint exercise can be sustained over a
long period.
Our list of “dos” begins with several themes that have emerged from our consultations and
from our own experiences and observations. These apply across the entire public sector.
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