Government rejects call to measure productivity across public service

President of the Treasury Board Shafqat Ali rises during question period in House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, May 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick)

OTTAWA — The federal government is rejecting a call from a working group to measure productivity across Canada’s public sector, arguing that doing so would not “readily align” with its priorities.

A working group tasked with measuring productivity in the federal public service recommends in a recent report that Statistics Canada explore, test and report publicly on the development of a productivity measurement program for the public sector.

The group says accurate and transparent measurement of public service productivity is “essential to improving outcomes” and that without reliable data, it’s “difficult to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of government services or identify areas for improvement.”

The group, launched by former Treasury Board president Anita Anand last year, was to issue a final report by the end of March but its conclusions were just released last week.

The working group members, which include former bureaucrats, academics and researchers, made 19 recommendations ranging from investing in technology to changing the cabinet decision-making process.

In its response to the report, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says some of the recommendations — such as reviewing the public service’s administrative policies and using artificial intelligence — align with its plans.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press