Merit 2.0: Implications of the 2003 Public Service Employment Act on Merit as an Organizing Principle in the Federal Public Service

Abstract

This paper investigates the first ever statutory definition of merit in the 2003 Public Service Employment Act. The assertion of the paper is that although it has yet to materialize, the statutory definition has created an opportunity to water down the merit system and compromise the integrity of meritorious appointments. To provide background for the evaluation and contextualize the 2003 change, a brief history of the merit system as operationalized in Canada's Public Service and a discussion of competing conceptualizations of merit is included.