Talk to many federal public servants and you will hear the same story. The system is obsessed with process.
"It would be almost comical if it wasn't affecting the programs and services that help build a better Canada," says C4TF Director Dennis Howlett. "Your government is not a business."
Internationally recognized public administration expert Donald Savoie echoes those sentiments.
In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen's Kathryn May about his new book he says: “The essence of the public service is to provide front-line services to Canadians and we have lost sight of that. The public service is tasked with managing the paper burden, feeding the beast and managing process."
Whatever Happened to the Music Teacher analyzes the failure of a three-decade obsession with the bottom line. Savoie predicts that the government’s plans to cut spending will come from front-line programs and services rather than operations. The music teacher in the title is a reference to those front line services.
"It has been the wrong bottom line," says Howlett. "We need to build Canada and serve Canadians. That's why Canadians pay taxes."