APPENDIX - A RECONNAISSANCE OF CANADIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM DURING THE EARLY 1990S

The purpose of this paper was to provide background information for di scussions at the National Seminar on Decentralization and Power Sharin g on 15-17 October 1993 in St. Andrew's, New Brunswick. It emerged out of a concern that the literature has not managed to convey a sense of the extent and nature of administrative reform under way in Canada. S enior public servants working for nine provincial governments were con tacted during the summer of 1993 in order to obtain documents and thei r views on developments in administrative and program reform during th e early 1990s. The information was first presented at the national sem inar and was subsequently reviewed by provincial contacts in late 1993 , who often suggested additional modifications. Our reconnaissance mov es from west to east, and ends with observations about developments at the federal level. We did not delve into aboriginal and federal-provi ncial issues since other papers were to take up these subjects, but if officials noted that such issues were part of their administrative re form agenda, then we mentioned them. Officials from New Brunswick emph asized regional initiatives in the eastern provinces and we chose to l eave that discussion in that section. Given the limited resources and time available for undertaking this survey of developments, it should not be construed as a definitive history of recent reform within each jurisdiction. Nevertheless, we do think this reconnaissance conveys th e current tumult in Canada's public sector; governments at all levels are in the midst of significant restructuring, and this will continue for the foreseeable future.