treatment of all employees. The Commission should also initiate a positive programme of interdepartmental transfers in order to strengthen weaker portions of the Service, to make the best use of the manpower available and to broaden the experience and increase the knowledge of promising civil servants. Discipline

Primary responsibility for the maintenance of discipline rests with the department. Staff associations and departmental officials alike accept this principle, but both feel that there should be a common code of conduct and disciplinary standards applicable throughout the Service.

The Commission, with many others, had been concerned over the widespread impression that security of tenure in the Civil Service is so sacred that officials are obliged to tolerate levels of inefficiency and even misconduct to a degree unacceptable in private business. The Commission, however, did not know of any legal basis for such an impression. Nevertheless, there were undoubtedly instances where departmental officers were reluctant to impose such serious penalties as suspension or dismissal because the present Act and Regulations provide in such matters neither direction nor guidance for management nor adequate appellate procedures for employees.

With these considerations in mind, the Commission's proposals are designed to place hrmly on the departments primary responsibility to maintain discipline while, at the same time, providing suitable safaguards against uneven or unfair treatment of employees. The Commission's proposals entail, among other things, (a) that the Commission establish common standards for conduct and discipline, and establish penalties to provide for fair and uniform treatment throughout the Service; (b) that deputy heads and their subordinate officers be made clearly responsible for the application of such standards within their own departments; (c) that the scope of the appeals to the Commission in such matters be substantially broadened; (d) that dismissal be effected by the Commission on the recommendation of the deputy head (instead of by an Order in Council); and (e) that before an employee is dismissed on grounds of political partisanship, his case be

fully investigated and reported upon by one or more Commissioners appointed for the purpose under Part I of the Enquiries Act. Staff Development, Training and Counselling

Both the Commission and the departments should do more than had been possible in the past in the development and training of staff and in employment counselling.

The present Act and Regulations give little guidance as to where responsibility should rest and authority be vested for dealing with these aspects of personnel administration, the importance of which has been increasingly recognised in recent years and great benefits are to be deprived by both employer and employed. As such regulations as are now in force and such provision as is now made are insufficient to meet the constantly increasing needs of departments, the Commission have proposed: (a) that the Commission be authorised to establish standards and to co-ordinate departmental activities in these fields, to administer outservice programmes, to provide facilities beyond departmental means and for interdeguidance and assistance to departments; (b) partmental purposes and to give technical that deputy Ministers be responsible for initiating programmes and making appropriate provision to meet continuing or changing conditions in their departments; and (c) that all employees be given equal opportunity to be considered for training where such training is part of staff development programmes.

from which the Commission believe that

Leave and Hours of Work

Ultimate authority for determining leave and hours of work in the Service rests with the Government, as in matters of remuneration, and for essentially the same reasons. In this area, the Commission have recommended that they (the Commission) be required to study the practice in industry and business and, from time to time, to make recommendations to Government with a view to keeping these terms of civil service employment consistent with those criteria_by which remuneration is determined. Commission's detailed recommendations on leave and hours of work are designed to

The

serve this purpose and, at the same time to provide for the considerable administrative flexibility required by the variety of functions and services throughout the Service.

Appeals

Although limited provision for appeals is made in the present Civil Service Regulations, the Act itself makes no mention of this matter. The Commission have recommended not only that provision for appeals be made in the Act itself but also that the bases on which appeals can be made should be broadended significantly and that some change be made in appellate procedures.

At present appeal boards consist of a representative of the Commission, a representative of the department and a representative of the appellant (usually a member of one of the recognised staff associations). The Commission think it unsound in principle that the advocate for the department and the advocate for the appellant should at the same time sit as members of the board charged with the responsibility of making a final recommendation on the merits of the case. It is, therefore, recommended that, in future, appeals be heard either by the Commission or by appeal boards to be established by the Commission. The decision reached by the Commission following an appeal board report would be final. Research

The Commission are convinced of the importance of maintaining the necessary facilities for continuing administrative research and for the maintenance of basic personnel records and statistics. The primary purpose here is to facilitate the planning and development work necessary to maintain an adequate supply of well qualified candidates available for appointment to the Service. For reasons of efficiency and economy, such facilities should be centrally controlled. The Commission, therefore, recommend that statutory provision be made for the establishment and maintenance, under the aegis of the Commission, of the required records and statistics.

Retirement, Death Benefits, Health
Service and Safety

The extent of retirement and death benefits and the scope and nature of health ser

vices should, in the Commission's opinion, remain for determination from time to time by the Government. It is, however, suggested that such programmes as are authorised in these fields should be administered by the Commission. Such an arrangement would simplify personnel work in the departments, effect staff savings by eliminating duplication and tend to improved relations with employees.

With regard to safety programmes, the Commission have recommended that the new Act contain a provision prescribing that the Governor in Council shall make regulations to provide for safe working conditions throughout the Civil Service.

Staff Relations

In the public service as in private industry good employer-employee relations are essential to efficiency and economy in operations. The Commission believe that the staff associations, as well as the "management" side in government departments, have an important role to play not only in the satisfactory resolution of grievances but also in the development of an efficient Service. The National Joint Council has important functions in this fleld and the Commission believe that its activities could be developed with advantage. The Commission's recommendations in this area are designed to strengthen and expand existing facilities for dealing with matters of mutual concern to the Government and its employees through joint consultations, and for the disposition, of grievances, under regulations which would provide for the setting up of machinery appropriate for this purpose.

Veterans Preference

The preference accorded to veterans in respect of Civil Service employment in Canada is, to the best of the Commission's knowledge, more generous than in any other country. The Commission have recommended that the absolute preference now accorded to unrehabilitated disabled veterans remain unchanged. With regard to other classes of veterans, however, the Commission's experience had led them to conclude that, in general interest, certain changes in the preference should be seriously considered. The

Commission have recommended the institution of a point-bonus preference (5 per cent of attainable marks) for appointment, such preferential treatment to be limited to one Occasion at the veteran's option. Further, preferential treatment for war-service veterans should apply equally to all who serve on active service during a state of war or emergency or with forces organised under international auspices for collective defence.

Language Qualifications

The Commission have recommended that clear provisions be made in the new Act and Regulations to ensure that both Englishspeaking and French-speaking Canadians are served by civil servants in their own tongue. Exemptions From Civil Service Act

Throughout their consultations, the Commission became increasingly aware of the dissatisfaction on the part of both officials and employees arising from the considerable proportion of the Public Service that is excluded, in whole or in part, from the normal Civil Service regime by exemption from the Civil Service Act. After careful study of the position the Commission have come to the following conclusion, (a) that there are some situations in which total exemption is justified; (b) that there are circumstances in which individual positions or groups of positions should be exempted from particular provisions of the Act; (c) that all exemptions should be provided for in the Civil Service Act itself; and (d) that the Act and Regulations should apply to all partially exempt positions except to the extent that the instrument of exemption specifically limits the application of such provisions.

The Commission are convinced that it is in the best interests of all concerned and of the efficient coduct of Government business that, in so far as practicable, there should be a common legal and procedural basis for personnel administration throughout the Public Service of Canada. The Commission recognise, of course, that there are certain servants of the Crown who cannot and should not be subject to a common Civil Service regime. Apart from the Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and of course the judiciary, which are clearly outside the area of "Civil Service" in this sense, there

are, in the Commission's view a number of agencies of Government which, because of their nature and function, should continue to be exempt from the general law. Criteria For Exemption

It was difficult to establish precise criteria to determine in all circumstances which agencies should be wholly exempt from the provisions of the Civil Service Act, The Commission suggest, however, that, generally speaking, they would fall into three categories: first, the purely commercial enterprises such as Canadian National Railways and TransCanada Air Lines; second, industrial organisation such as Polymer Corporation; third, a small group of agencies which should remain outside the jurisdiction of the Commission for special reasons of a political, practical, or other nature. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation would be an example of this third category.

The Commission recognise that this attempted classification is not exhaustive and that the criteria they suggest are not always conclusive. There would certainly be other cases where exceptions would be desirable. For example, the Government Printing Bureau, which is a commercial enterprise, should in Commission's view remain subject to the Civil Service Act except possibly in the manner by which the wages of its tradesmen are determined. On the other hand, there are a number of presently exempt agencies which should be brought gradually and by stages under the Act. Finally, the Commission recommend that both the total exemptions referred to in the preceding paragraphs and partial individual exemptions, which would still be possible under the Commission's proposals for a new Act, should be reported regularly to Parliament. The Role Of The Commission

The Act of 1918 provided for the establishment of a Civil Service Commission independent of Government and responsible only to Parliament. The paramount purpose of this independent status for the Commission was, of course, to safeguard the merit principle and to protect the Service against the exercise of influence in appointments and preferment in preferment in Government employment.