Average-size public sector ‘would save N.S. $1-billion’

With Jackson Doughart

Nova Scotia will not likely correct its fiscal situation unless it curtails growing public sector employment.

In 1997, there were 86 public servants for every 1,000 Nova Scotians. In 2015, there were 101 per thousand, and 95,565 in total, according to Statistics Canada. A rise of almost one-fifth in 18 years shows a lack of discipline by governments of various stripes.

These findings are the subject of a recent paper at the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. The Size and Cost of the Public Sector in Atlantic Canada, 2015, expands and updates an earlier AIMS study of the scope of government employment.

There are reasonable explanations why Canadian provinces have different service needs, requiring more or fewer workers. But the gap between Nova Scotia’s 101 public employees per 1,000 residents and the national average of 83 demands scrutiny. The province’s public-sector wage bill is a major factor in perennial deficits and growing public debt.

Those who rejoice in …