Improving Government Accountability

Reformers from both inside and outside the Canadian government have long aspired to improve the government’s accountability to the public and to its elected representatives. In recent years the federal government has made significant efforts to increase accountability in response to scandals and public demands for more transparency. However, there is rising concern that new accountability procedures have led to increased costs while government activities seem more opaque than ever.

Drawing on the work of academics and the experience of practitioners from many levels of government, Improving Government Accountability presents current research on government accountability in Canada. It engages with several different issues related to accountability: horizontal or shared governance, performance reporting by elected representatives, external audit agencies, citizen satisfaction surveys, and the challenges of managing multiple, complex demands for accountability inside government.