Goals and Focused Spending

August 31, 2005

Measurements for the Golden Decade

The Campbell government's five goals for a golden decade include national, continental and global standards; they are:

1) To make B.C. the best educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.

2) To lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.

3) To build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors.

4) To lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management, bar none.

5) To create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

The reference for goals 1 and 2 is the continent, for goals 3 and 5 it is Canada and for goal 4 it is the world. Logical consistency has never been a prerequisite for political rhetoric so the commitment to reflect the five goals in future strategic plans might require some mental contortions.

Since 2002 the government's strategic plan has been framed in terms of three goals with objectives and key measures for each goal. The goal of "a strong and vibrant provincial economy" included the objective that "British Columbia will have new employment opportunities". One of three measures for that objective was "net new jobs in British Columbia" with the target being "improve upon the 2001 baseline rank of 9th place growth in Canada". BC came close to a recession in 2001. Seasonally adjusted employment shows a gain of 7,300 jobs between December 2000 and May 2001 followed by a loss of 57,000 jobs between May 2001 and December 2001. It is no doubt just a coincidence that the downturn started with the beginning of the New Era, but it is why December 2001 is frequently used by the Campbell government as a point of reference rather than May 2001. Regardless of such quibbles, the strategic plan uses the measurement of job growth ranked relative to other provinces as one of three measures for an objective that supports a goal. By contrast, the fifth goal for the golden decade makes a measurement, per capita job growth, equivalent to a goal and thereby creates a problem for reconciling the strategic plan with the political rhetoric.

Unlike goal five, golden decade goals one through four do not include their measurements although when they are developed they must be stated in terms of preset jurisdictional comparisons of North America, Canada or the world. The second goal in the current strategic plan, "a supportive social fabric", includes objectives which appear to capture goals one through three of the golden decade group, health, education and social services, although the promise of the best system of support in Canada goes far beyond the current measures which focus on reducing the percentage of people receiving income assistance. The government will no doubt say that the best system of support is a job, but if it stops there why didn't it just say that in its goal? Some change in measurements will be necessary if the government is sincere about incorporating its five golden decade goals in future strategic plans.

The third goal in the current plan calls for "safe, healthy communities and a sustainable environment." The golden decade goal "to lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management, bar none" appears to go beyond anything indicated in measurements in the current plan.

Governments try to stick to an agenda while managing the distractions that happen. Whether they chose the best wording for their agenda or not, the Campbell government laid out a Throne Speech, an election campaign and a promise to First Nations in terms of five goals. They should be treated seriously and effort should go into determining whether progress is made towards those goals. In many respects expectations have been raised, perhaps more so than was done with the New Era Document. Whether the comparison is to Canada or the world, the standard that is set in the goals is to lead and to be best, not just to improve and certainly not to regress.

August 29, 2005

Goals and Focused Spending

On September 12th British Columbians will be treated to a Throne Speech followed by a budget-update on September 14th. Unlike the "90 days of action" that kicked off the Campbell government's first term, 128 days of near invisibility has been the hallmark of the start to the second term. Many might say that it would be good if government remained in that mode, but it is likely that some evidence of life will be seen once the legislature is called to order.

In the February 2005 Throne Speech the Campbell government announced five goals which it carried into the election campaign under the title "Great Goals for a Golden Decade". Cynics might think that reference to the goals will soon be dropped as the election fades to a distant memory but there is reason to believe that they will form the basis for measuring the government's performance. The five goals were incorporated into the "New Relationship" document which the government is hoping will form the foundation for "a new government-to-government relationship based on respect, recognition and accommodation of aboriginal title and rights."

The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act requires government to table an overall strategic plan and service plans for each ministry on or before the time the main estimates are presented to the Legislative Assembly. The idea behind that requirement was to reform government by forcing it to specify its goals and measurable performance indicators so that they could be used to determine whether progress is being made towards achieving those goals. A review of Strategic Plans from 2002 to 2005 shows that the government had some difficulty reconciling promises in its 2001 campaign booklet, the New Era Document, with the requirements for a strategic plan. Under the heading "Future Strategic Plans", the 2005 Strategic Plan recognized the need for some consistency between political promises, Throne Speeches and the plan required by legislation when it said:

During the week of September 12th British Columbians will have the opportunity to see whether government continues to use those five goals to determine its direction for the decade ahead. The 128 days between the election and the legislative sitting could have been used to prepare an updated strategic plan that is expressed in terms of those goals, but don't be surprised if the tabling of a revised strategic plan and consistent service plans is postponed until the first full budget in February 2006.

On August 28th an article by Ian Bailey in the Province newspaper described Finance Minister Carole Taylor's meeting with the paper's editorial board. The article emphasized her message to public sector unions to lower their expectations. It concluded by quoting Taylor as saying "If there's one thing I could change or do, (it) would be to make the spending somewhat more focused - so if we have a priority, these are the pieces that go with this priority and this is how we're going to get there." Taylor is no doubt familiar with the documents referenced here. As Finance Minister she should put her mind to how the spending will be focused so as to make progress on government's five goals. A summer of controversy over chaos in the Ministry of Children and Family Development, during which the Minister was not available for comment, indicates that a lot of work needs to be done "To build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors." On September 14th, in addition to re-announcing tax cuts for high-tech firms, Taylor should show how spending will be focused so as to meet that goal.