EDITORIAL: Carney’s guide for civil service cuts

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The federal government has moved to block civil servants from streaming services such as Netflix, Crave and Amazon Prime on its networks.

According to documents obtained by University of Ottawa Assistant Professor Matt Malone and published by CBC, this was not done so much because the streaming put a strain on government networks, but that it was perceived to be a “people management” issue.

Scott Jones, president of Shared Services Canada (SSC), the agency responsible for IT, wrote to the Treasury Board about a meeting of deputy ministers, during which they discussed the use of streaming services in federal buildings. He supported blocking them.

“While streaming may ultimately impact the bandwidth available to the (Government of Canada), it is also more importantly a people management issue,” he wrote.

“In the current context and with public perception of the public service as it is … there is value in engaging (deputy ministers) on these issues and in committing SSC to take some action.”

The departments with the highest streaming included the Department of National Defence (DND), Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Privy Council Office.

This coincides with a Canadian Press story from February, which reported that large numbers of civil servants aren’t following the rules when it comes to the government’s hybrid work-from-home model that requires government employees to be in the office three days a week.

The DND, which employs about 28,700 people, had the lowest compliance rate. In January, it was 60%, but just 31% in December.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing about 240,000 federal employees, said it had no record of any employee being dismissed or disciplined for not adhering to the hybrid rules.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has told government agencies and departments they must slash 15% from their budgets over the next five years.

These two reports provide a road map for where to cut. Those ministries and agencies where employees (a) can’t be bothered to show up for work on the days they’re required, or (b) are streaming Netflix, should be the first on the chopping block.

As a show of good faith, Carney should end the hybrid model for MPs and require them to show up to work when the House resumes sitting.