The federal government needs to develop strategies to restore public trust in the country’s institutions, an internal memo says.
There’s “growing evidence” that the public mistrusts the government, says the memo, acquired by Blacklock’s Reporter through Access to Information.
“Based on our internal discussions and trends we have seen from stakeholders and partners we suggest the following priority topics: There is growing evidence there has been an erosion of trust in democratic institutions,” said the memo by the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, which is part of Public Safety Canada.
“What are the key factors that have contributed to this erosion and what are some of the strategies that can be put in place to restore the public’s trust?”
The memo did not detail the reasons for the growing mistrust of the public.
Research by Statistics Canada backs up the concern over waning mistrust in the government.
A companion memo from the Privy Council Office says the problem lies in disinformation spread online, according to Blacklock’s.
“One of the harms that is most closely linked to online disinformation is the harm it poses to measures of trust or confidence in democratic institutions,” wrote the Privy Council.
“There are behaviours and characteristics that are related to information distribution that are closely linked to online disinformation such as inauthentic amplification, etcetera,” said the memo. “In other words, it may be helpful to ensure that the focus here is not only on types of harmful content that are linked to disinformation but rather to consider behaviours, actors and distribution.”
Pandemic, Other Factors
The report also blames changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for a lack of public trust.“The pandemic dramatically changed how the public service works, impacted citizens’ trust in public institutions, increased their expectations, and diminished their overall satisfaction with government services,” the deputy ministers wrote.
They noted that Canada’s public service has been slow to change, causing public distrust.
“The public service has struggled to adapt, to innovate and to meet expectations, resulting in a growing deficit of trust and negative perception of legitimacy,” they wrote.
Public servants also identified challenges they face at work, causing government workers to lose faith in the system.
“Participants also discussed the culture of risk aversion that exists in the public service when it comes to providing fearless advice or giving dissenting opinion,” the report said.
The culture created in public institutions “negatively impacts” trust of management, the report authors said. This leads to a lack of creativity and innovation, and “decreases the level of overall trust and confidence in the system.”
According to the report, government employees said this culture can “prevent people from ‘speaking truth to power’ and stems from fear of repercussions or reprisals for those who challenge the status quo or who may not agree with the direction of the elected government.”
The deputy ministers noted that public servants value excellence, but delivering high-quality service has “become more challenging.”
“We have had recent successes, but by almost any objective measure, the public service has not adapted to meet the heightened demands of citizens when it comes to service delivery,” they wrote.
