Hon. Percy E. Downe: My concern, Senator McCallum, about this bill is the intention. Although it’s very credible, I’m concerned that the unintended impact is that it is restrictive. It doesn’t recognize that when French and English came to this part of North America, there were already at least 90 Indigenous languages. This has become more a bill of exclusion than the original intent. I’m wondering if you share my concern on that.

Hon. Percy E. Downe rose pursuant to notice of December 9, 2021:

That he will call the attention of the Senate to:

(a)The importance of the federal government as Canada’s largest single employer, with over 230,000 civilian employees;

(b)The fact that, although everyone understands that a significant portion of federal employees would be based in the nation’s capital, in recent years a trend has developed whereby the distribution of jobs between Ottawa and the regions has become more and more disproportionate in favour of the National Capital Region; and

(c)The role of the Senate in examining and discussing the opportunities for decentralizing federal government jobs and services, and urging the Government of Canada to restore the historical distribution of employment to one third of jobs in the National Capital Region and two thirds in the rest of the country, thereby contributing to the economic growth and stability of the regions of Canada.

He said: Honourable senators, I want to take this opportunity because I’m the last on the Order Paper and this opportunity may not present itself for a number of weeks. I want to say a few short words about decentralization of government departments across Canada. Basically, the message will be anticipation that the federal government will reallocate departments as they have done for Prince Edward Island, and other provinces and regions can benefit from that.

The Government of Canada, colleagues, is the largest employer in the country. Even without counting the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, over 246,000 Canadians work for the federal government. From the Atlantic to the Pacific to the high Arctic, Canadian public servants are spread throughout the country performing the various tasks that make a nation function.

That said, these public servants are considerably less spread throughout the country than has been the case historically. Not surprising, a significant proportion of federal employees have been concentrated in the Ottawa area, many within sight of Parliament Hill. This is understandable. One would expect the nation’s capital to have a large number of federal employees.

However, the various provinces and regions of Canada also value the well-paid and stable workforce that the federal public service represents. Such a workforce can provide a foundation around which a healthy regional economy can flourish. Indeed, that has been the case in Ottawa and the National Capital Region.

Unfortunately, the economic benefits flowing from these jobs are not being shared as evenly as they used to be. Historically, one third of federal public jobs were based in the Ottawa area while the remaining two thirds were across the rest of Canada. However, statistics show that ratio changing to the favour of the National Capital Region, rising to 47% last year. So instead of one third of Government of Canada jobs being located in the Ottawa area, we are closer to one half.

This change has come at the expense of the regions. For example, in the period 2008 to 2021, the federal public service experienced a net gain of over 46,000 jobs. Of that number, over 30,000 — almost two thirds of that total — ended up in the National Capital Region.

This presents two related problems for Canada’s regions and the people who live there. The first is that the financial benefits of the federal workforce are concentrated, like the jobs themselves, in one area of the country. All regions of Canada should share in this prosperity and opportunities to work in their own region, particularly for young people who are trying to start their careers.

The best example of the beneficial impact of the decentralization of government jobs was the 1976 relocation of the national headquarters of Veterans Affairs Canada to Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island. Prince Edward Island was very fortunate decades ago with that decision. Veterans Affairs Canada is the only national department headquartered outside the Ottawa region. That long-ago decision to move Veterans Affairs to a province had a profound and lasting impact on P.E.I. both economically and socially. Currently some 1,600 people work for Veterans Affairs on Prince Edward Island. That represents a yearly payroll of $122 million. These employees buy cars, homes and the various goods and services associated with everyday life — $122 million flowing through the Prince Edward Island economy year after year that would not exist were it not for a decision made 45 years ago.

Obviously, there is more to a healthy economy than federal government jobs. Meaningful economic development can only come from a balanced economy that respects and welcomes the role of a robust private sector, which invests the time and money necessary to create the jobs that will keep Canadians at home, building their futures.

That said, a balanced economy also means there is an important role for government to play. Hundreds of thousands of federal jobs and the purchasing power they represent make the federal government a significant buyer in the Canadian economy. The way those jobs are distributed across Canada has a major impact on regional economies. Thus, it is theirs and our responsibility to ensure that distribution is fair.

Colleagues, beyond the economic contribution, the presence of Veterans Affairs has also made a significant contribution socially to Prince Edward Island. Veterans Affairs has broadened the Prince Edward Island society to include a vast array of highly trained professional public servants who contribute their every working day to public affairs and their evenings and weekends to Prince Edward Island’s society. One of the many positive effects of Veterans Affairs’ relocation to Charlottetown can be seen in the remarkable growth and the use of the French language. Prince Edward Island has always had a thriving Acadian community, but the addition of Veterans Affairs deepened the role of the French language.

According to Statistics Canada, Prince Edward Islanders are third among the provinces in English-French bilingualism after Quebec and New Brunswick. There is no doubt that the strength of the Acadian community assisted in that regard, but the single greatest contribution to the growth of the French language in P.E.I. in the last 40-plus years is the presence of Veterans Affairs.

One cannot talk about decentralization without talking about the past two years. With every aspect of life, the pandemic has profoundly changed work for many Canadians. For example, Shopify, one of Canada’s top companies — it used to be located down the street on Elgin Street — has shifted its operation to allow its employees to work remotely as much as possible. Technology helps. Indeed, five years ago the Government of Canada itself stated in a response to a written question that “with video messaging and email, there are several avenues available for virtual and instant communications between offices.” That was long before we ever heard the words “Zoom” or “MS Teams.” Colleagues, it can be done.

We need to ask why the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, with some 1,500 employees, has hundreds of their employees located in an office tower on Kent Street in downtown Ottawa and not, say, in downtown Sydney, Cape Breton. Why is the federal Department of Agriculture located in Ottawa and not Saskatchewan? Why is the Department of Environment located in Gatineau as opposed to Newfoundland and Labrador? Why, given a growing trade with Asia, is the Export Development Canada office on O’Connor Street rather than in British Columbia?

Colleagues, relocation makes sense, not only as an economic development tool, but also because it reflects the challenges of a geography that is as diverse as our nation. Canadians are looking for a fair distribution of federal service jobs. By the government’s own logic, there is no reason for so many of these jobs to be in Ottawa’s National Capital Region. They can just as easily be performed in any corner or region of our country.

Continued pressure on the government, particularly from the Senate, with our regional responsibilities, can help bring this about and spread the benefits of public service employment throughout Canada. If we decentralize government employment and departments, all regions of Canada can enjoy the same benefits Prince Edward Islanders are currently enjoying and have enjoyed for the last four decades. Thank you, honourable senators.

(On motion of Senator Griffin, debate adjourned.)

(At 6:41 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at 2 p.m.)