In the News

When I was up in Whitehorse, I was interviewed by the Whitehorse Star...here is the story....

Institute promotes public service excellence
By Stephanie Waddell on November 21, 2008



LEARNING CURVE APPRECIATED - Gabriel Sekaly, seen Wednesday in Whitehorse, says his trip north also gave him the opportunity to learn how the public service operates in the territory.

It should come as no surprise that Gabriel Sekaly ended up working in the public service.
The chief executive officer for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), who’s visiting the territory from Toronto this week, grew up in Ottawa, where his father had worked for the federal government.

Sekaly’s grandfather and great-grandfather were also civil servants.

These days, in his role with the IPAC, Sekaly’s job sees him working to improve public service at all levels of government across the country and, in some cases, internationally, with the IPAC’s mission being “to promote excellence in public service.“

Sekaly travelled to Whitehorse at the invitation of the IPAC’s Yukon chapter on Monday. He met with officials from the four orders of government in the territory and informed them of the services the organization offers to public servants.

“I could see a good opportunity to share information,“ Manon Moreau, chair of the IPAC’s Yukon chapter, said in an interview Wednesday following a noon meeting with city council and senior management.

The visit also meant raising the profile of the IPAC and letting the many government workers in the territory know of the services and programs the IPAC offers, she said.

That’s exactly what Sekaly did as he went over the IPAC’s initiatives with city officials.

With a membership of 3,100 public servants, academics and others interested in the world of public administration, the organization has conducted research, published books and papers and done projects overseas.

One of its more recent international programs has Ontario partnering with Uganda. Another has seen work done in Ghana to help develop a better decision-making process.

Many of the efforts have seen the Canadian contingent learn from the countries they are partnering with, Sekaly said.

New projects that will be happening on the home front are set to look at the value of the public service, stressing its importance and encouraging individuals to seek careers in the field.

Another project, he said, will look at developing a possible policy on what the ideal population might be for the country and how that can be achieved.
Coun. Jan Stick pointed out in many cases, that’s out of the hands of government officials.

Fort McMurray, Alta. serves as a prime example, she continued. While government officials have tried to do what they can to help control the population, it’s been out of their control, given the number of jobs in the community. “It took them over,“ she said.

Sekaly said countries like Australia and New Zealand have policies in place around population. Some countries facing uncertain futures around climate change now may consider it the right time to look at it, he added.

The organization is also continuing its efforts in building leadership through a number of programs.
After meeting with Yukon government, municipal and Council of Yukon First Nations officials, Sekaly noted the public service plays quite a different role in the Yukon compared with southern Ontario.
Recalling his years working in Ontario’s Department of Finance, Sekaly noted few people he talked to understood what he did or would recognize him if he saw them in the street.

That’s not the same in Whitehorse, where individuals run into bureaucrats around town regularly, he said.
Along with giving him a chance to let Yukoners know what the IPAC does, Sekaly noted the three-day trip also gave him the opportunity to learn how the public service operates in the territory.

Pictures of Whitehorse

In my last blog entry I lamented about how I had forgotten to bring my camera with me. Well, thanks to Manon Moreau for sending me wonderful pictures taken by Tony Gonda. Check them out by clicking here.

Gabriel Goes to Whitehorse

In my Ying and Yang of travel I have been to Barbados and now the Yukon in the space of a month – slight differences in temperature and topology. This was my first ever visit to the Yukon – or the “Great White North”. I left Toronto on Monday night at 18:15 on an Air Canada flight to Vancouver and then I was supposed to board a 22:00 flight to Whitehorse that was supposed to land at 00:30 (local time or 03:00 Toronto time). Well, the flight was delayed and we left at 00:45 and landed in Whitehorse at 03:00 local time (or 06:00 Toronto time). Manon Moreau the Chair of the Yukon Regional Group was there to pick me up.

Apart from that, the rest of my time here has been fabulous. I have had a number of meetings with the Yukon First Nation Groups; with the Government of the Yukon Deputy Ministers and ADMs; with the City of Whitehorse; with the Yukon Government policy community; as well as a meet & greet with IPAC members. I learned much about the realities of the Yukon and Northern life. Did you know that the Yukon has 4 orders of government – the federal government; the Yukon government; municipal governments; and 15 First Nation Governments (11 of which have signed self-government agreements). All this with a population of over 32,000 people, 75% of whom live in Whitehorse. The biggest First Nation Government serves a population of just over 1,000 people. All these First Nation governments are responsible for the delivery of provincial/territorial type services to their community. With all these orders of government, the need for co-operation and collaboration is the key to success. What a challenge!

Apart from talking about IPAC, our mission and our programming, I also was invited to speak to a group of policy folks on “Evidence-based Policy”. It was a lively discussion of the issues around the development of the full range of policy issues based upon reliable evidence. (My presentation is posted on the IPAC website under Research). I also spoke about our international program and our two new initiatives – the Value of Public Service project and the Canada Population Policy project.

I had the opportunity of walking around Whitehorse and seeing a little bit of the town. It is nestled along the Yukon River and there are mountains all around. The trees were all white as they we sprinkled with snow and ice – I should have brought my camera!! There are a number of very nice coffee shops (went to Baked – great coffee and scones!) and some nice shops as well. I was told that the Yukon has more artists per capita than anywhere else and you can tell by the paintings, photos, sculptures, etc. that you find in the stores.

The public administration and public policy challenges of the North – with vast regions and small dispersed populations – are not unique to the Yukon but are similar for the two other territories as well as the northern part of every other province in Canada, save the Maritimes. In these smaller communities you are closer to the people – if you work for the Government of the Yukon, everyone knows you in town and are likely to ask you about a problem at the grocery store or the hairdresser or at the restaurant. For those who work in larger governments, think about that for a second.

I want to thank Manon Moreau and Julie Haywood for organizing this trip to the Yukon and I also want to thank all the dedicated public servants that I met for their warmth and hospitality during my short sojourn in the Yukon. I will be back (with my camera)!!!