Reforming Government: Who is in Charge?

Reforming government: Who is in charge?

If you follow politics locally or nationally, you will notice a trend. The most hotly debated issues tend to fall along ideological and partisan fault lines. These tend to be the most divisive issues, and as a result they are the most likely to affect the outcome of elections.

However, with all the attention paid to these hot button issues, there are many others that get ignored to the detriment of us all. One such issue, which cuts to the core competency of government, is the so-called chain of command.

When dealing with any organization, be it a business or a government, the public deserves to know who is in charge. The expectation for clearly delineated areas of responsibility is key. Public frustration only grows as an organization become less transparent.

Such an issue recently came up at a Medicine Hat City Council meeting, where questions regarding the roles and responsibilities of senior City management were raised. In recent years, similar issues have been raised in numerous municipalities around Alberta. Citizen groups are growing concerned that Chief Administrative Officers and other bureaucrats are seen to be acting without clear direction from elected officials given publicly at open meetings.

After a decade serving within the provincial Legislative Assembly, I can tell you this is not just a municipal issue. As an MLA, I was constantly frustrated with our provincial government’s lack of a clear distinction between the executive and legislative branches of government. In addition, too many decisions affecting people’s lives are now being made behind closed doors within public agencies, boards, and commissions (there are well over 200 such organizations now in operation). As a result, government is growing less transparent by the day.

Ultimately, making government more transparent is not a partisan issue. Rather, it is an issue of leadership. Addressing this issue both provincially and municipally has to start at the top, with Danielle Smith.

The Premier needs to immediately and significantly de-bureaucratize government, be it within departments, crown corporations, or public agencies. Furthermore, the Premier needs to learn from the failed leadership of Jason Kenney and instruct the Premier’s Office to stop micro managing the agendas and processes of the legislative branch of government. The executive branch needs to stay in its lane, and allow elected representative to do their job.

When it comes to municipalities, the Premier should strengthen transparency provisions within the Municipal Government Act, especially when it comes to regulations over development and the expenditure of taxpayer money.

In addition, the MGA also needs to more clearly delineate areas of jurisdiction between municipalities and the province. One of the public’s major frustrations is not knowing which level of government to go to with concerns. For far too long, the province has tinkered with municipal issues, and vice versa. Mission creep has made it impossible for regular folks to know who is in charge.

At the end of the day, making government more transparent is about respecting the public. We periodically see polls showing that public distrust of government is rising. Conversely, it seems to many of us that our politicians and unelected bureaucrats are becoming increasingly distrustful of the public.

To both these groups, I would ask a simple question: Who is in charge?