Dear Angry,
First, I totally sympathize with the frustration you must be feeling. Going through the process of personnel adjustment is difficult in any case. Moving it while questioning the balance of the system makes it more difficult.
You ask the basic question: can I trust this system? My short answer is yes. Let me explain.
Our federal civil service operates within a dense web of oversight – Parliamentary agents including the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, the public sector integrity commissioner, and the auditor general; internal disclosure and complaints procedures in each department; union protection; Parliamentary committees in both legislative houses.
Few governments have such independent oversight built into their architecture. They are not perfect – sometimes disappointingly so – but they are real.
As I mentioned in the previous column, these oversight mechanisms exist to ensure the integrity of our system. And violations, whether from honest mistakes or from actual malice, are exposed. The result of the qualification is real.
I will not talk about the specific case you mentioned.
My opinion is just that – an opinion, based on my own experience and what I’ve read.
What I can tell you, from the conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks, is that sane people have completely different opinions about the results, and whether the results are appropriate. That is a valid conversation. The fact that it is happening openly, according to the public record, is itself evidence that the system has not failed.
Your letter points to something else, something that doesn’t appear in any organizational chart or policy framework. There has always been, outside the official ranks of the public service, the unofficial. Networks, partners and a passive sense of who is considered “one of us.”
It is not exclusive to the government. But it is not so important for an institution whose legitimacy depends on trust as it can create the impression that the system is rigged.
The good news is that this attitude is not as bad or widespread as it was when I joined the civil service. The system has changed in some ways. The gap between stated values and living culture was once wide and is now, in many places, even narrower. Not closed, but narrow.
Is the system perfect? Of course not. It is made up of hundreds of thousands of imperfect people.
I’ve met my share of tough times over the years – senior managers who seemed nice to their bosses and were tough on their employees; the very insecure ones who made others feel less good about themselves. Stakeholders, who could not make a decision. The godlike ones who had all the answers.
But for every difficult person, there were many more who were truly great: people who loved their work, cared about their colleagues, listened, owned their mistakes and vowed to do better. That has been the central truth of my experience, and I believe it remains the central truth of the institution today.
When it comes to your emergency situation, you should make sure you are well informed about the process and your rights. Communicate with your manager, and colleagues you trust.
Make sure you have a supportive network. Bad systems are still worth using, and people who know how to use them make them better.
I came to public service by accident and stayed by choice. Over a long career, I worked with amazing people at every level, and yes, a few that weren’t so amazing. That is the reality of a great human institution. Incomplete, sure. But also the power of great things, and of real change.
Your anger tells me you still believe in what should be. That faith is worth keeping.
– Yazmine Laroche, Civil Service Secrets
