About the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Public Service
Information about °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s public service — an organization that provides government services to citizens and promotes an innovative, diverse, eco-friendly and accessible workplace.
Overview
The Government of °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû includes ministries, agencies and Crown corporations. Its workforce of 60,000+ public servants is called the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Public Service (OPS).
The OPS:
- helps the government of the day to develop and deliver policies and programs
- is politically neutral and remains in place through elections
- works in many different areas (e.g., policy, communications and program delivery)
- is governed by the rules set out in the Public Service of °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Act, 2006
Organizational structure
The OPS is overseen by the Secretary of the Cabinet (the head of the public service) and a team of deputy ministers, one for each government ministry.
The Secretary of the Cabinet:
- is the head of the OPS and the Premier’s most senior policy advisor
- is responsible to all ministers for running their respective ministries
Meet the Secretary of the Cabinet.
The Deputy Ministers:
- are appointed as the most senior public servant in each ministry
- support their minister who heads the ministry
- are responsible for their ministry’s day-to-day operations
- are accountable to the Secretary of the Cabinet for managing those operations
Learn more about Deputy Ministers.
Information and Information Technology (I&IT)
I&IT provides innovative technology and web support for the public service. It includes:
- the Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer
- nine I&IT business clusters
Each cluster supports a group of ministries with common technology needs:
- Central Agencies (Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Finance)
- Children, Youth and Social Services
- Community Services
- Enterprise Financial Systems and Health Services
- Health Services Cluster
- Justice Technology Services
- Labour and Transportation
- Land and Resources
- Service°ÄÃÅÓÀÀû (the service arm of government)
The Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer:
- makes strategic and security decisions concerning technology
- sets information management policy
- oversees records management for the Archives of °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû
- aligns I&IT work to support the government’s direction and vision
- manages all servers, computers, software and mobile devices
- keeps networks, information and public records secure
Diversity and accessibility
The OPS strives to be a workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued and respected. Its Diversity Office is responsible for transforming the OPS into a more diverse, accessible and inclusive organization that supports all employees in reaching their full potential.
Some of the initiatives that are part of the OPS’ diversity strategy include:
- staff training and awareness
- recruitment and hiring policies
- employee networks
- workplace discrimination and harassment policies
- diversity mentoring
- removing barriers for people with disabilities
- reviewing °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû statutes for accessibility
Read the OPS accessible customer service policy
Accessibility in the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Public Service
Open Government
The OPS supports the work of an open, transparent and accessible government — a new initiative underway to unlock the power of government information by sharing it freely with the public.