2024–25 Public Service Commission annual report

Message from the Chair of the Public Service Commission

I am honoured to have served as the Chair of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and I am committed to maintaining the Commission’s excellence in setting goals, objectives, and strategic direction for managing human resources for the Ontario Public Service (OPS) as we enter the new fiscal year.

This year we welcomed 5 new commissioners to the PSC, bringing a refreshed perspective and varied experiences to the team that will benefit the work we do. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who have served as commissioners and generously offered their valuable insights and expertise to advance the work of the PSC.

Our shared mission is to take pride in strengthening Ontario, its places and its people. Guided by this purpose, we, as senior leaders, remain committed to building a workplace that is inclusive, diverse, equitable, anti-racist and accessible – free from discrimination and harassment. While we have made meaningful progress, there is still more to do. I am energized by the opportunity to lead and contribute to key initiatives such as Our OPS/”One OPS”, the strategic framework that grounds and guides our daily work, and the OPS People Plan (2023-2026) – our comprehensive human resources strategy. Together, we are shaping a stronger, more inclusive Ontario Public Service for everyone.

PSC continues to oversee and monitor progress in achieving OPS People Plan initiatives related to the priorities to modernize work, grow and develop talent, and cultivate a culture of belonging to optimize public service. We continue to prioritize a strategic direction that builds the workforce of the future that fosters a flexible, innovative and skilled workforce, ensuring a steady focus on service excellence while upholding transparency, accountability and integrity across the organization.

The 2024-2025 Public Service Commission Annual Report presents our accomplishments that advance public service excellence for Ontarians. Programs, directives and resources continue to be developed and deployed to grow and develop our executives and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to lead and deliver organizational priorities. We also remain committed to fostering greater representation within our executive ranks, with a continued focus on uplifting individuals who identify from one of our most underrepresented groups – Indigenous, racialized and peoples with disabilities.

Through the Commissioners’ cross-appointed roles on the Executive Development Committee (EDC), we remain committed to strengthening our OPS leadership community and equipping our leaders to meet emerging challenges. The PSC’s ability to deliver on HR strategies, such as the OPS People Plan, relies on strong, capable leadership across the organization. Whether through our monthly Leadership Forums or leadership development initiatives like the Building Leadership and Outstanding OPS Manager (BLOOM) program, the PSC and EDC are actively laying the groundwork for a resilient leadership culture. These efforts are essential to advancing our goals and delivering meaningful results for Ontarians.

It is a privilege to serve as Chair and I look forward to leading the PSC over the coming year.

Carlene Alexander
Chair, Public Service Commission

About the Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is a Non-Board Governed Regulatory Agency, as defined by the Agencies and Appointments Directive. It is responsible for oversight of the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and operates under the authority of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 (PSOA).The PSC is assigned authority under the PSOA to establish terms and conditions of employment for employees in ministries and Commission public bodies.

Its authority includes:

• Overseeing appointments to the public service
• Managing disciplinary processes, investigations and dismissals
• Addressing post-service conflict of interest matters conflict of interest financial disclosure requirements.

To fulfill its statutory obligations and promote effective public service management, the PSC issues directives and policies that set out key principles and requirements. To optimize efficiency and reinforce management accountability, the PSC delegates most decision-making authority relating to human resource management to deputy ministers (for ministry employees) and to prescribed delegates (for Commission public body employees).

The PSC operated without a dedicated budget or staff, and its commissioners serve without remuneration. Administrative and secretariat support is provided by the Centre for People, Culture and Talent (CPCT), a division of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the President of the Treasury Board (Minister, TBS) and the PSC Chair outlines the government’s expectations and formalizes the PSC’s accountability to the Minister. The current PSC membership list is included as an appendix.

Mandate

The mandate of the Public Service Commission (PSC), under Part III of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 (PSOA), is to ensure:

• Effective management and administration of human resources in relation to public servants that the PSC, or its delegates, appoints to employment by the Crown.
• Non-partisan recruitment and employment of public servants that the PSC, or its delegates, appoints to employment by the Crown.

Executive Development Committee

PSC members also serve as members of the Executive Development Committee (EDC). The primary purpose of EDC is to build and sustain an organizational culture that attracts, develops, and retains executives who uphold the values of the OPS, as well as meet government objectives, and deliver quality service to the people of Ontario.

The responsibilities of EDC relate to:

• Executive recruitment
• Strategic talent management
• Enterprise learning and development for leaders
• Organizational design and effectiveness

Performance measures and annual targets

PSC’s performance in 2024-25 is assessed against targets set in the 2024-25 to 2026-27 Public Service Commission Business Plan for the following activities:

• HR strategy
• Policy development
• Public service talent and leadership
• Conflict of interest
• Administration and reporting

We are leading HR strategy

The OPS People Plan (2023-2026) is a core element of the Our OPS plan and is our human resources blueprint to address the fundamentals of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent that reflects Ontario’s diversity, with a focus on the strategic priorities to modernize the workplace, grow and develop talent, and cultivate a culture of belonging. Phase One of the OPS People Plan was released in 2023. Through the Phase Two release in 2024, the PSC continues to oversee and monitor progress in achieving these goals.

The PSC continues to review and approve human resource management directives, policies and programs to shape a non-partisan, professional, ethical, competent, healthy and safe, diverse, accessible, anti-racist, inclusive and respectful public service, and mitigate workforce risks.

As EDC, we continue to play a key role in delivering on the Executive Development for Growth and Excellence (EDGE) plan for the OPS.  EDGE is a multi-year executive development plan to equip our executives with the knowledge, skills and competencies to lead and deliver organizational priorities. Under the leadership of EDC, it was launched under the Learning and Development Action Plan in 2023-24 and continues to evolve.  EDGE includes key components aimed at building executive leadership capacity including:

• Onboarding resources
• Multi-modal learning and development catalogue
• Professional coaching
• Assessments
• Experiential learning

We oversee policy review and renewal

The 2024-2025 non-compensation HR policy review agenda maintained the PSC’s commitment to regularly review HR policy direction. Through systematic reviews and evaluation of policy, the PSC has assurance that critical direction is set for ministries and Commission public bodies that is current, relevant and reflective of best practices.

The updated policy agenda, contained in the 2024-25 to 2026-27 Public Service Commission Business Plan, captures changes in practice, emerging opportunities, and creates conditions to enable shifting government priorities.

In 2024-2025, all non-compensation HR policies were reviewed where legislation requires an annual review. The review of the Learning and Development Policy is ongoing with a targeted completion date in 2025-2026. This timeline allows the policy review and updates to align with other organizational learning priorities. In response to emerging government priorities, a review of the Employment Screening Checks Policy was prioritized, deferring the review of the Disclosure of Wrongdoing Directives.

Priority for the policy review agenda is driven by strategic priorities and commitments (such as OPS Leadership Pledge), legislative requirements (e.g., annual reviews of health and safety policies), length of time since last review, accuracy (e.g., organizational changes, designations, responsibilities), and operational and program feedback. Priorities are confirmed on an annual basis and may be updated as required to reflect new government priorities or emerging opportunities.

We are enabling OPS talent and leadership

PSC provides critical oversight of executive talent through approval of appointments to Executive 3 or Executive 4 classes of positions (assistant or associate deputy minister and equivalent). During 2024-2025 PSC received 55 submissions seeking approval to appoint executives for both permanent and temporary opportunities, enabling our commitment to deploy executive capacity to respond to priority work.

As part of our ongoing commitment to attract, retain and develop top-quality leadership and staff necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the OPS and to deliver results to Ontarians, diversifying senior leadership remains a top priority for the PSC, including talent leadership that is representative of our province. The OPS strategy is focused on creating access to coaching and mentoring, leadership development programs, succession plans, and recruitment and selection processes for underrepresented groups.

As EDC, the committee is taking concrete action to build leadership capacity across the OPS:

• The OPS strategically invested in external executive education programs for senior executives (assistant deputy ministers, deputy ministers and directors) through executive programs at Ivey, Queen’s, and Rotman in alignment with leadership succession efforts. The EDC approved 25 candidates for participation in the 2024-2025 year.
• In 2024, two in-person Senior Leadership Institute sessions were delivered, engaging senior executives (assistant deputy ministers, associate deputy ministers, and deputy ministers). These sessions focused on key leadership themes such as accountable leadership, building a community of leaders, courageous conversations and artificial intelligence. Notably, 100% of respondents stated they were able to apply accountable leadership to their workplace, demonstrating the sessions’ practical impact.
• The OPS remained dedicated to leadership development by hosting monthly Leadership Forums for all people leaders. These forums served as a valuable platform for the Secretary of the Cabinet to offer insights and guidance on key topics and organizational priorities relevant to front-line managers (e.g. Artificial Intelligence, navigating the caretaker period and transition, and compensation adjustments). Across the ten (10) hybrid and regional forums held throughout the year, an average of 4,270 leaders participated, and the forums consistently received over 90% positive feedback for clarity and usefulness of the information provided. Leadership Forum was also noted as the second most effective internal communications channel in the OPS Internal Communications Survey Results with leaders appreciating hearing directly from the Secretary of the Cabinet on a regular basis.
• To socialize new executive hires into their new role and achieve strong performance quickly, onboarding is critical. Online onboarding resources for executives (Directors, Assistant Deputy Ministers, Associate Deputy Ministers and Deputy Ministers) were accessed more than 700 times in 2024-2025.
• The Building Leadership and Outstanding OPS Manager (BLOOM) program continues to provide all OPS managers access to development opportunities relevant to the stage of the management career.
  • Approximately 600 new managers (less than two years of experience) participated in BLOOM New Manager 1: Building Manager Essentials to obtain the foundational knowledge (human resources, finance and procurement) they need to manage effectively. 87% of participants rated the learning experience as having highly met or exceeded their expectations. Approximately 316 new managers also participated in BLOOM New Manager 2: Building Leadership Capacity, to develop tools and skills to lead others effectively with 90% of participants rating their learning experience as having highly met or exceeded their expectations.
  • Approximately 400 experienced managers (more than two years of experience) participated in offerings across the BLOOM Experienced Manager Series. 83% of participants rated their learning as having highly met or exceeded their expectations.
• To cultivate talent and build leadership capacity, the OPS provided internal coaching services to 61 executives across the OPS prioritizing identified executive successors from the most under-represented groups (67% identified as belonging to an under-represented group). With continued demand, external executive coaching services increased by 60% from the previous year (53) with 85 executives accessing these services, 33% of whom identified as belonging to an under-represented group.
• One hundred and eight (108) current and aspiring executives participated in “Steer Your Career”, a career development program. 100% of participants rated the program as being impactful in their ability to communicate their personal brand, strengthen their network and interview successfully.
• To demystify the executive recruitment process, help individuals to effectively participate in the process, and contribute to senior leadership diversification and career development, almost 500 people attended 11 monthly 90-minute panel discussions.
• To build leader-as-coach skills, 52 executive leaders in three cohorts attended the Executive Coaching Program (ECP) to adopt a coaching mindset as a strategy for mobilizing staff to identify objectives and actions to boost learning and performance. For 2025-2026, ECP has been phased out in favour of a newly designed Leader-As-Coach for Executives (LACE) program. LACE is available to OPS executives by self-enrollment, enhancing access to the programs to meet identified needs.
• “EDGE On-Demand” just-in-time learning resources were developed for 15 priority executive development topics. Over 4200 pageviews of our digital MIT Sloan learning library have been accessed. Additionally, the Harvard Business Publishing Collection has recorded over 860 downloads.
• Succession management planning for the Assistant Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister levels was centralized with a view toward developing diverse and robust talent benches for key leadership roles. In 2024, EDC received an update on the ADM succession strategy, including successor pools, and endorsed 29 high-risk ADM positions that will receive focused, high touch succession planning.
   

We are building on results

The OPS Employee Experience Survey creates opportunity for employees to share valuable insights on how the OPS is achieving the goal of being an inclusive and anti-racist organization with an engaged workforce. Building on the results of the 2024 survey, we will be fielding a pulse survey in May 2025 to check-in with staff on how we are performing as an organization. In addition to having questions related to leadership, recognition and retention, the survey will also measure staff perceptions of the actions we have taken based on previous feedback. The results of the pulse survey will help guide further action on improving the employee experience and support the development of the next full survey in 2026.

We are leading key ethics processes

PSC is the ethics executive for former public servants who worked in a ministry other than in a minister’s office. PSC makes a determination when a former employee declares a potential conflict of interest (COI) between their prior OPS employment and a new activity, consistent with the COI rules for post-service employees in the PSOAand its regulations. PSC will issue direction to the former employee.

PSC received 32 post-service COI determination requests in 2024-25. PSC’s service standard for providing a determination is within 60 days of an employee or former employee submitting a post-service COI determination request. PSC strives to respond within this timeline 85% of the time.

• PSC provided determinations within 60 days in 16 of 32 (50%) cases. This is a substantial drop from last year where the standard was met 78% of the time. For the coming year, significant effort will be required to achieve a response rate of 85%.
• Where PSC took more than 60 days to provide a determination, this was generally due to ministry or legal reviews taking longer than anticipated (e.g. situations where additional information was required of the declarant or program area, or legal consultation).

There were no cases where PSC had to act due to non-compliance with direction.
The PSC also has an obligation under Ontario Regulation 381/07: Conflict of Interest Rules for Public Servants (Ministry) and Former Public Servants (Ministry) to maintain a list of ministry employees in positions who routinely work on one or more matters that might involve the private sector and have access to confidential information about those matters. Individuals identified through this process are required to submit either a financial declaration to the Integrity Commissioner or a previous declarant attestation to CPCT (if they had previously submitted a financial declaration that remains current).

During the last declaration cycle (2024), requests for declarations or attestations were sent to 228 employees on the list maintained by PSC. After exemptions (due to retirements, leaves of absence, or departures from the positions) were identified, all employees in active identified positions completed a declaration or attestation. A new financial declaration cycle for 2025 is underway.

Administration reporting

The 2023-24 Public Service Commission Annual Report and the 2025-26 to 2027-28 Public Service Commission Business Plan are posted in accordance with the requirements under the Agencies and Appointments Directive. The PSC Chair submitted all necessary accountability documents to the President of the Treasury Board who is the minister responsible for PSC.

Risk assessment and mitigation

Acting within the authority granted to it under PSOA, as well as those delegated to it by Management Board of Cabinet, PSC makes decisions with respect to several potentially high-risk matters related to:

• policy direction for management of OPS employees;
• appointments of senior executives in Executive 3 and Executive 4 classes (or equivalent);
• dismissals of employees in Executive (levels 2 to 4, or equivalent) classes of positions;
• determinations of post-service conflict of interest for former ministry employees.

In the 2024-25 to 2026-27 Public Service Commission Business Plan, PSC assessed the risks to its strategic priorities, along with risk indicators and mitigation strategies to manage the risks and execute their mandate:

• Approving policy direction that creates conditions for building and sustaining a skilled, diverse and engaged workforce and shapes a non-partisan, professional, ethical, competent, healthy and safe, diverse, accessible, anti-racist, inclusive and respectful public service and mitigate workforce risks.
• Reviewing and updating policy direction so it remains current and relevant, and addresses evolving organizational priorities, recommendations and response for HR management.
• Oversee and monitor progress in achieving key initiatives related to the strategic priorities and goals set out in the OPS People Plan to modernize work, grow and develop talent and cultivate a culture of belonging.
• Promote OPS ethics and values.
• Seeking advice from TBS Legal Services Branch on matters for which there are significant legal risks.
• Composing PSC membership with the Secretary of the Cabinet and Deputy Minister, TBS as permanent commissioners and a cadre of rotating deputy ministers, which provides PSC with the benefit of broad OPS workplace perspectives when considering strategic human resource proposals, and helps PSC be cognizant of public policy impact of decisions that it renders.

Application of risk management and deployment of defined mitigation strategies are instrumental for informing and preparing PSC to make timely and effective decisions.  Specifically, ensuring that strategic planning is evidence-based, people and future-focused and enabling of government and organizational priorities is an accomplishment of which the PSC is proud.

Conclusion

This annual report fulfills the Public Service Commission’s obligation under the Agencies and Appointment Directive to report on progress on goals and objectives as outlined in the 2024-25 to 2026-27 Public Service Commission Business Plan. This annual report will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly in accordance with Treasury Board/Management Board of Cabinet timelines.

Land acknowledgement

The Public Service Commission acknowledges that Ontario is located on the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples dating back countless generations. We respect the contributions of Indigenous peoples and recognize the role of treaty-making in what is now Ontario. We encourage the settlers reading this report to reflect on and acknowledge the Indigenous territory and unique history where you are located.

Appendix: Public Service Commissioners and secretariat

Public Service Commissioners (as of March 31, 2025)

Chair, Public Service Commission

Carlene Alexander
Secretary of Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet
Deputy Minister, Treasury Board Secretariat
99 Wellesley Street West, 5th Floor
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3
(416) 325-1607

Appointment: January 3, 2024

Term End: March 17, 2027

Vice Chair, Public Service Commission

Sarah Harrison
Deputy Minister of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
(416) 314-6790

Appointment: July 12, 2024

Term End: July 11, 2025

Commissioners, Public Service Commission

David Corbett
Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Northern Development and of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations 
Economic Reconciliation
11th Floor, 720 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2S9
(416) 326-2640

Appointment: July 12, 2021

Term End: July 11, 2025

Michelle DiEmanuele
Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Public Service
Room 5420, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
(414) 325-7641

Appointment: June 20, 2021

Term End: December 31, 2026

Jason Fitzsimmons
Deputy Minister of Finance
Frost Bldg. S 7th Floor, 7 Queen's Park Cres.
Toronto, ON M7A 1Y7
(647) 633-173

Appointment: January 3, 2024

Term End: January 2, 2026

Martha Greenberg
Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and of Rural Affairs
17th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
(416) 585-7000

Appointment: July 12, 2021

Term End: July 11, 2025

Maud Murray
Deputy Minister of Red Tape Reduction
56 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 2E7
(416) 325-6927

Appointment: January 3, 2025

Term End: January 2, 2026

Roda Muse
Deputy Minister of Francophone Affairs
6th Floor, Suite 601D, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2J4
(613) 302-5619

Appointment: January 3, 2024

Term End: January 2, 2026

Deborah Richardson
Deputy Minister of Health
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
(416) 327-4496

Appointment: January 5, 2015

Term End: July 11, 2025

Alexandra Sutton
Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and of Communications, Cabinet Office and Associate Secretary of the Cabinet
Room 5640, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
(416) 325-7932

Appointment: January 3, 2025

Term End: January 2, 2026

Ali Veshkini
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure
5th Floor, College Park
777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON  M7A 2J3
(416) 326-3880 

Appointment: July 12, 2024

Term End: July 11, 2025

Mercedes Watson
Chief Talent Officer and Associate Deputy Minister, Centre for People, Culture and Talent, Treasury Board Secretariat
Room 2440, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON  M7A 1A1
(647) 261-3920 

Appointment: January 3, 2025

Term End: January 2, 2026

Secretariat, Public Service Commission

Assistant Deputy Minister, Talent and Leadership Division
Centre for People, Culture and Talent
Treasury Board Secretariat
12th Floor, 595 Bay Street 
Toronto, ON M5G 2M6