Ontario civil servant talks E-reform, shocks and awes audience

On June 24, AmCham Egypt hosted Arthur Daniels, the assistant deputy minister for the Ontario government's "Public Service Excellence and Innovation Office," at a special breakfast briefing at the Cairo Marriott. The theme of the breakfast briefing was "Public sector excellence and innovation: Ontario's experience."

Daniels has played a leading role in the reform of Ontario's public sector, in which he has 28 years of experience. He is also an internationally recognized consultant on the subject of government reform.

The improvement of public service via E-government methods - particularly as they can be applied to Egypt - formed the core of the discussion.

Daniels explained that Egypt, like Canada, has a three-tier system of government, consisting of federal, provincial and municipal governments, which, he explained, "notoriously operate from the top down, preempting good customer service." He added that "governments bound up in rules and regulations drive citizens insane. Governments must be: speedy, integrated and have less red tape."

He noted, however, that Canada enjoys PC penetration rates of approximately 70 percent, far greater than those for Egypt, which are estimated - liberally - at five percent.

The Canadian province of Ontario, explained Daniels, has achieved "total E-government," allowing citizens to now pay their income taxes online. The process of integrating all aspects of government bureaucracy via the Internet has, he added, allowed the provincial government to downsize by approximately 25,000 employees. "And downsizing the government allows us to reduce public expenditure…and the private sector grows when the public sector shrinks," he noted.

Attendees registered surprise and admiration for Canada's remarkable progress in laying the foundations for E-government, with some participants voicing hopes that such progress could - and should - be emulated in Egypt.

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