NCR Networking Meeting – 2007-10-03

Location: NCR – Honeywell Room, Ottawa City Hall

Subject:  “Why the Public Service is Responsible for Canada Falling Short of its Potential and Lagging behind its International Peers”

Presentation: Attached

Speakers: John F. Thomas, CPSQA Director and President of John F. Thomas Management Consulting.

About two dozen attentive attendees enjoyed an insightful presentation. John challenged the attendees to help him work on a potential solution – inviting CPSQA to be one of the voices calling for excellence in the public service.

John’s thesis for the presentation was that Canada is doing well in education, the environment and public health, largely because of the leadership of the public service. However, in key areas such as innovation, the public service is falling short in its leadership responsibilities.

To move Canada from a position of 14 out of 17 among the OECD countries, to closer to the top, the public service has to embrace quality management and lead the country overall with policy and programs to support the private sector moving in the same direction.