To get things done, we need a culture shift inside Canada’s public service: Senator Wilson
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Canada is blessed with abundance, yet in recent times, we have struggled to get things done. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is that we just need to get out of our own way. That doesn’t mean recklessly approving projects that aren’t accompanied by appropriate environmental mitigations, nor does it mean turning our back on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Instead, it means that we need a shift in culture in the public service.
That is not something that even the best legislation can solve; rather it requires thoughtful management that fosters an environment where finding ways to do things faster and better — yet still in a good way — takes over from risk aversion, complacency and decision paralysis.
When it comes to major projects, we have something to learn from Stephen Harper’s government. Not in how it tried to streamline process through legislation, which I would argue still didn’t work, but in how it held management to account.
Under that administration, priority projects would be identified and the deputy minister of natural resources was given the authority to chair a group of the other deputies, whose departments were tasked with ensuring that the environmental review process and the subsequent approvals were done on a timely basis for any major project.
The natural resources deputy minister was then required to regularly report to the clerk of the Privy Council on the progress that was being made on any major project. This process worked because no deputy minister wanted to have to explain to the clerk why his or her department was falling behind.
To a certain extent, it appears the Major Projects Office is trying to accomplish some of this. Unlike the Major Projects Office, the deputies during the Harper era also had a reporting relationship with their teams and could also effectively manage any of the “activists” within them. As well as this system worked, not every project is of “national significance,” nor can every project secure the recurring attention of a group of deputies. However, that’s the management approach we need to cascade to all levels.
During regulatory reviews, most project proponents don’t get to engage with deputy ministers or ministers regarding their projects. In fact, the system is designed to isolate these senior decision-makers from proponents, while still giving access to government scientists and project opponents — a systemic bias that also needs to be corrected. Instead, proponents deal with day-to-day managers in departments and agencies, where they often experience a complete disconnect from any sense of urgency or timeline accountability. Many projects face years of delay in decision making, which significantly increases costs, tarnishes our reputation for getting things done and scares investment capital away.
For the time being, the Major Projects Office may be the most expeditious path for some of the projects that matter most, but what is required in the longer term is a shift in culture throughout the public service so that timeliness and accountability is something all proponents can experience.
There are those who feel that reforming the bureaucracy is too hard, which is why workarounds like the Major Projects Office are required. In the short term, that may be true; however, if we truly want to become a country that gets things done, we need to change the culture inside government.
Anyone who has worked closely with the senior ranks of Canada’s public service knows the depth of talent and dedication that is available for us to tap and promote. We need to be clear in outlining expectations and create room and targeted resourcing for them to manage differently. While it may be too much to reform culture for the whole public service at once, let’s start with the decision making around projects.
I applaud the prime minister and his government for continuing to lay out and signal an ambitious path of legislative reform. That needs to be complemented by deeper reforms to how we manage, motivate and deploy our public sector workforce to advance the nation’s agenda.
Senator Duncan Wilson represents British Columbia. Prior to his appointment to the Upper Chamber, he was an executive at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, where his responsibilities included advancing numerous gateway projects.
This article was published in The Hill Times on June 3, 2026.
Canada is blessed with abundance, yet in recent times, we have struggled to get things done. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is that we just need to get out of our own way. That doesn’t mean recklessly approving projects that aren’t accompanied by appropriate environmental mitigations, nor does it mean turning our back on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Instead, it means that we need a shift in culture in the public service.
That is not something that even the best legislation can solve; rather it requires thoughtful management that fosters an environment where finding ways to do things faster and better — yet still in a good way — takes over from risk aversion, complacency and decision paralysis.
When it comes to major projects, we have something to learn from Stephen Harper’s government. Not in how it tried to streamline process through legislation, which I would argue still didn’t work, but in how it held management to account.
Under that administration, priority projects would be identified and the deputy minister of natural resources was given the authority to chair a group of the other deputies, whose departments were tasked with ensuring that the environmental review process and the subsequent approvals were done on a timely basis for any major project.
The natural resources deputy minister was then required to regularly report to the clerk of the Privy Council on the progress that was being made on any major project. This process worked because no deputy minister wanted to have to explain to the clerk why his or her department was falling behind.
To a certain extent, it appears the Major Projects Office is trying to accomplish some of this. Unlike the Major Projects Office, the deputies during the Harper era also had a reporting relationship with their teams and could also effectively manage any of the “activists” within them. As well as this system worked, not every project is of “national significance,” nor can every project secure the recurring attention of a group of deputies. However, that’s the management approach we need to cascade to all levels.
During regulatory reviews, most project proponents don’t get to engage with deputy ministers or ministers regarding their projects. In fact, the system is designed to isolate these senior decision-makers from proponents, while still giving access to government scientists and project opponents — a systemic bias that also needs to be corrected. Instead, proponents deal with day-to-day managers in departments and agencies, where they often experience a complete disconnect from any sense of urgency or timeline accountability. Many projects face years of delay in decision making, which significantly increases costs, tarnishes our reputation for getting things done and scares investment capital away.
For the time being, the Major Projects Office may be the most expeditious path for some of the projects that matter most, but what is required in the longer term is a shift in culture throughout the public service so that timeliness and accountability is something all proponents can experience.
There are those who feel that reforming the bureaucracy is too hard, which is why workarounds like the Major Projects Office are required. In the short term, that may be true; however, if we truly want to become a country that gets things done, we need to change the culture inside government.
Anyone who has worked closely with the senior ranks of Canada’s public service knows the depth of talent and dedication that is available for us to tap and promote. We need to be clear in outlining expectations and create room and targeted resourcing for them to manage differently. While it may be too much to reform culture for the whole public service at once, let’s start with the decision making around projects.
I applaud the prime minister and his government for continuing to lay out and signal an ambitious path of legislative reform. That needs to be complemented by deeper reforms to how we manage, motivate and deploy our public sector workforce to advance the nation’s agenda.
Senator Duncan Wilson represents British Columbia. Prior to his appointment to the Upper Chamber, he was an executive at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, where his responsibilities included advancing numerous gateway projects.
This article was published in The Hill Times on June 3, 2026.