R. MacGregor Dawson

The Canadian Civil Service

The Dominion civil service has had a more troubled history than any other part of our government, and it bears on its body the marks of many campaigns. It has been constantly under attack from all quarters; it has been the subject of almost innumerable investigations by Royal Commissions and Select Committees; and it has been exposed to three complete reorganizations since 1867, each of which has involved fundamental changes of a sweeping character. Nor can one say with any assurance that the general principles and organization of the service are as yet permanently fixed. Reactionary forces which threaten to undermine the merit system seem to be increasing in recent years, and many of the fundamental ideas on which the existing service is built are proving to be unsatisfactory. It is this phase of the problem that I would like to discuss in this paper—the civil service of to-day and the developments which may be hoped for, or guarded against, to-morrow. Much of what I shall say is old and has been stated many times before; but re-statements along these lines are imperative if the public service is to occupy its proper place in the future government of the Dominion.