Dispatch Box: The Workload of Deputy Ministers
Deputy ministers have very busy lives. A 2004 survey by the Canada School of Public Service indicated that they work an average of nearly 69 hours per week. The typical Monday to Friday workload is usually 12 hours per day, and most deputies spend an additional eight hours or more in evening meetings or weekend work. Deputy ministers consider this an acceptable and necessary work schedule, given their responsibilities and the complexity of their duties.
| Work hours per week | Deputy Ministers |
| < 60 | 0 |
| 60–64 | 8 |
| 65–69 | 7 |
| 70–74 | 6 |
| 75–79 | 3 |
| 80–84 | 1 |
| 85–90 | 2 |
| > 100 | 1 |
| 68.6 average | 28 |
As Donald Savoie (2003, 139) has written, deputy ministers “spend on average one hour out of every three on interdepartmental issues. Typically they allocate nearly twice as much time to meetings with their peers as on matters involving their own ministers. They are at the very centre of departmental activities and are always trying to accommodate the ‘urgent,’ the ‘important,’ and the ‘unforeseen.’ Planning is always left wanting.”
The Issues
- Is this workload overwhelming? Unreasonable? Unhealthy?
- Does the public service expect too much from deputies?
- Do deputies spend too much time on administration and not enough on policy development?
Reform Options
- Should the federal government hire more deputies?
If so, would the public be willing to incur the additional costs of this reform?
If not, is the current system sustainable? - Should certain deputies be designated as policy specialists in each department?
If so, would this create a two-tiered system of deputies? And is that desirable?
If not, does the status quo support effective policy development? If that answer is “no,” are Canadians suffering from a lack of strong policy emerging from the federal public service?
Source: Data from Bourgault 2003.
